ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ

What does tuhanu mean in Punjabi?

Tuhanu (ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ) is the Punjabi word for 'to you' when you speak politely to one person, or to more than one person at all. It is the dative form of tusi, 'you': the form used when something is given, said or done to the people you are speaking to. 'Main tuhanu kitaab devanga' means 'I will give you the book'.

The origin of tuhanu

Tuhanu is built from two small pieces. The Wikibooks Punjabi grammar says that when tusi combines with a suffix it becomes tuha, so tusi plus nu, 'to', gives tuhanu, literally 'to you'. Tusi itself is the plural of tu, 'you', and the Jugti entry for tusi traces tu to the Prakrit word tum, from the Sanskrit word tvam, 'you', running back to the Proto-Indo-European root *tuh2. Hindi keeps the same pattern, with tum as its plural 'you'.

What are the forms of tusi?

Tusi changes its shape depending on its job in the sentence. The plain form, tusi, is the subject: 'tusi aao', you come. The oblique form is tusan, used before postpositions: 'tusan naal', with you. When something is given to you, Punjabi says tuhanu: 'main tuhanu phone karanga', I will phone you. When something comes from you, it is tuhathon: 'eh tuhathon aaya', this came from you. And to say that something belongs to you, the word is tuhada: 'eh tuhada ghar hai', this is your house. The familiar singular set runs in parallel: tu, tain, tainu, taithon and tera.

When do Punjabis say tuhanu, and when tainu?

Tuhanu is the safe choice in almost any situation: it is polite for one person and correct for a group. Use it with elders, teachers, strangers, and anyone you want to show respect to. Tainu is only for one person you know well: a friend, a sibling, a child, or someone younger than you. 'Tuhanu ki chahida hai?' suits an elder; to a close friend the same question is 'tainu ki chahida hai?'. Using tainu with an elder can sound rude, and using tuhanu with a close friend can sound distant, so the choice carries respect as well as number.