Asking Yes/No Questions

1. The Simplest Way to Ask a Question

In English, forming a yes/no question often involves changing the word order ("You are ready" -> "Are you ready?"). Hindi has a much simpler rule: you can turn almost any statement into a yes/no question just by adding one word at the beginning.

The magic word is kya.

Let's take a statement you already know how to make:

• Statement: Aap theek hain. (You are fine.)

To turn this into a question, you simply place kya at the front:

• Question: Kya aap theek hain? (Are you fine?)

The rest of the sentence—the Subject-Object-Verb order—stays exactly the same.

This next video provides a very clear explanation of this core principle.

Here are a few more examples building on what you've learned:

• Statement: Yeh aapka ghar hai. (This is your house.)

• Question: Kya yeh aapka ghar hai? (Is this your house?)

• Statement: Film achhi hai. (The movie is good.)

• Question: Kya film achhi hai? (Is the movie good?)

For a concise written summary of this rule, take a look at the following resource.

2. Answering Yes/No Questions

Now that you can ask a question, you need to know how to answer one. The basic words for "yes" and "no" are:

• Yes: Haan (हाँ)
• No: Nahi (नहीं)

In formal situations or when you want to show respect (which is great for interacting with a new audience), you can add the word ji (जी) before your answer.

• Yes (respectful): Ji haan
• No (respectful): Ji nahi

Let's continue with the video from before, as it explains how to use these responses.

So, a simple conversation might look like this:

Person A: Kya aap India se hain? (Are you from India?)
Person B: Ji haan, main India se hoon. (Yes, I am from India.)

Person A: Kya yeh ek purani film hai? (Is this an old movie?)
Person B: Ji nahi. (No.)

3. Conversational Nuances

What we've covered is the "textbook" rule, and it's always correct. However, since your goal is conversational fluency and understanding movie dialogues, you need to be aware of a few common variations.

A. What does kya mean here?

It's crucial to understand that when kya starts a yes/no question, it doesn't mean "what." It's simply a grammatical marker that signals a question is coming. Think of it as an invisible, spoken question mark at the start of the sentence. We will learn how to ask "what" in the next lesson.

B. The "Lazy" kya

In fast, informal speech, native speakers often drop the kya and simply use a rising intonation at the end of a statement to indicate a question. This is very similar to how you might do it in English: "You're going to the store?" instead of "Are you going to the store?".

• Aap theek hain? (with rising intonation) = Kya aap theek hain?

The video you watched earlier makes this exact point.

C. kya at the End

Another very common conversational trick is to move kya to the end of the sentence. This gives the question a more casual, almost "by the way" feel.

• Aap theek hain, kya? (You're fine, are you?)
• Yeh film achhi hai, kya? (This film is good, is it?)

The following video shows a short, natural dialogue. See if you can spot both a standard kya question and one with kya at the end.

Knowing these variations is key to your goal of understanding 50%+ of movie dialogue. You've likely heard all three forms (kya at the start, kya at the end, and no kya at all) without realizing the pattern.

Conclusion

Great work today! You have learned the single most common way to ask questions in Hindi, opening up a whole new dimension of interaction.

Key Takeaways:

• To form a standard yes/no question, add kya to the beginning of a statement. (Aap theek hain -> Kya aap theek hain?)
• To answer, use haan (yes) or nahi (no). Add ji for respect (ji haan, ji nahi).
• In conversation, you'll often hear the initial kya dropped in favor of a rising intonation, or you might hear kya placed at the end of the sentence.

Preview of the Next Lesson:
Yes/no questions are essential, but to have a real discussion, you need to be able to ask for more information. In our next lesson, we will learn how to ask open-ended questions using words like kya (what), kahan (where), and kaise (how). This is when kya will finally take on its meaning of "what," allowing you to ask your audience, "Aapka pasandida gaana kya hai?" (What is your favorite song?).