وہ

Punjabi

Alternative forms

• وِہُوں (vihūṉ)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *weys-

Proto-Indo-European *wisós

Proto-Indo-Iranian *wišás

Proto-Indo-Aryan *wiṣás

Sanskrit वि॒ष (viṣá)

Prakrit 𑀯𑀺𑀲 (visa)

Old Punjabi وِسُ (visu)

Punjabi وہ

Inherited from Old Punjabi وِسُ (visu), from Prakrit 𑀯𑀺𑀲 (visa), from Sanskrit वि॒ष (viṣá), from Proto-Indo-Aryan *wiṣás, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *wišás, from Proto-Indo-European *wisós, from *weys-.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Punjabi) IPA^(key): /ʋɪ˩˥ʱ(ʊ)/

Noun

وِہُ • (vihu) m or f (Gurmukhi spelling ਵਿਹੁ)

1. alternative form of وِسّ (viss, “poison”)

Derived terms

• وِہُ وَرگا (vihu vargā, “very bitter”, adjective, literally “like poison”)
• وِہُࣇا (vihuḷā, “poisonous”, adjective)

References

• Iqbal, Salah ud-Din (2002), “وِہ”, in vaḍḍī panjābī lughat (in Punjabi), Lahore: عزیز پبلشرز [ʻazīz pabliśarz]
• “ਵਿਹੁ”, in Punjabi-English Dictionary, Patiala: Punjabi University, 2026

Urdu

Etymology

Uncertain.

Most likely from Old Hindi उहु (uhu), उहुं (uhuṃ), from Apabhramsa ओहु (ohu), from Prakrit 𑀅𑀳𑁄 (aho), from Sanskrit असौ (asau, “that”). The inflected forms are formed by analogy with its proximal counterpart یِہ (ye).

For Old Hindi वो (vo), Chatterji suggested a derivation from Apabhramsa ओ (o), from Sanskrit *अव (*ava), attested in अवोष् (avoṣ), अवोर् (avor, “of you both”, gen. du.), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *avá. He suggested the term not being preserved in literature but continuing to be spoken. Compare Avestan 𐬀𐬬𐬀 (ava).

Note that the second etymology explains plural وے (ve) as well, while the first does not. See there for more.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /ʋəɦ/, /wəɦ/, /ʋoː/, /woː/

• Audio (Delhi):

  (file)

Pronoun

وہ • (vo) m or f (Hindi spelling वो or वह)

1. he, she, it, they (distal third person subjective personal pronoun)
2. that, those (distal demonstrative pronoun)

Determiner

وہ • (vo) (Hindi spelling वो or वह)

1. that, those (distal demonstrative determiner)

Declension

Pronoun declension of وہ

	singular	plural
direct	وُہ (vo)	وے (ve (obsolete))
indirect	اُس (us)	اُن (un)
ergative	اُس نے (us ne)	اُنھوں نے (unhõ ne)
genitive	اُس کا (us kā)	اُن کا (un kā)
dative	اُسے, اُس کو (use, us ko)	اُنھیں, اُن کو (unhẽ, un ko)

See also

• Appendix:Urdu correlatives

Urdu personal pronouns

			direct case	indirect case	ergative case	dative/accusative case
1st person	singular		مَیں (ma͠i)	مُجھ (mujh)	مَیں نے (ma͠i ne)	مُجھ کو (mujh ko) مُجھے (mujhe)
	formal (rare)		خَاکْسَار (xāksār)		خَاکْسَار نے (xāksār ne)	خَاکْسَار کو (xāksār ko)
	plural		ہَم (ham)		ہَم نے (ham ne)	ہَم کو (ham ko) ہَمیں (hamẽ)
2nd person	informal (intimate)		تُو (tū)	تُجھ (tujh)	تُو نے (tū ne)	تُجھ کو (tujh ko) تُجھے (tujhe)
	semiformal (familiar)		تُم (tum)		تُم نے (tum ne)	تُم کو (tum ko) تُمْہیں (tumhẽ)
	formal (polite)		آپ (āp)		آپ نے (āp ne)	آپ کو (āp ko)
3rd person	proximal	singular / informal	یِہ (ye)	اِس (is)	اِس نے (is ne)	اِس کو (is ko) اِسے (ise)
		plural / formal		اِن (in)	اِنْہوں نے (inhõ ne)	اِن کو (in ko) اِنْہیں (inhẽ)
	distal	singular / informal	وُہ (vo)	اُس (us)	اُس نے (us ne)	اُس کو (us ko) اُسے (use)
		plural / formal		اُن (un)	اُنْہوں نے (unhõ ne)	اُن کو (un ko) اُنْہیں (unhẽ)