ਕਿੱਥੇ

What does kithe mean in Punjabi?

Kithe (ਕਿੱਥੇ), pronounced KIT-he, is the Punjabi question word for where: in which place, at what place. Dictionaries give it as the standard Punjabi equivalent of the English where, and it is the word behind the questions every traveller, parent and host asks all day: where is it, where are you, and where are we going?

How is kithe used in questions?

Kithe works at almost any point in a Punjabi question, though it most often comes just before the verb at the end. Sentence collections for learners show the pattern repeated everywhere: kithe hai asks where something is, kithe ja rahe ho asks where someone is going, and kithe rehnde ho asks where someone lives. Because Punjabi word order is flexible, kithe can also open a sentence for emphasis, and a bare Kithe? on its own, said to someone who has walked in late, asks everything at once: where were you?

The word has a close companion, kithon (ਕਿੱਥੋਂ), which asks from where: where a person comes from, or where a thing can be got. Hosts use it when a guest arrives, tu kithon aaya, where have you come from, and shoppers use it for supplies. Kithe asks about the place where something is or happens; kithon asks about the place it started from.

Is kithe only used in questions?

No. Kithe also appears inside plain statements, in what grammars call indirect questions: mainu nahi pata oh kithe gaya, I do not know where he went. And in lively speech a doubled kithe, kithe can set up a comparison that means the two sides are worlds apart, roughly where is this and where is that: speakers use it to say there is simply no match between the things being compared.

What is the difference between kithe and kithon?

Kithe asks about location, the place where a person or thing is, stays or happens. Kithon asks about origin or source, the place from which someone comes or something is obtained. If you want to know where the station is, the word is kithe; if you want to know where a train has come from, the word is kithon. Mixing them up is one of the most common small mistakes new learners make.