کو

See also: گو, كو, کوـ, ـکو, Appendix:Variations of "ko", and Appendix:Variations of "ku"

Acehnese

Pronoun

کو

Jawoe spelling of kèe.‎

Alviri-Vidari

Adverb

کو (ko)

(interrogative) where

Related terms

کده (kode)

Deccani

Etymology

Derived from the Old Urdu کوں (kooN) from which the Deccani pronunciation and Standard Urdu forms descend. Ultimately from a derivative of Sanskrit कृ (kṛ, “to do”). Compare Standard Urdu کو (ko), Hindi को (ko), and Braj कौ (kau).

Postposition

کو (kū)

marks the dative case: to
میرے کو ― mere kū ― to me

References

https://udb.gov.pk/result.php?search=%DA%A9%D9%88%DA%BA

Malay

Pronoun

کو

Jawi spelling of ku.‎

Persian

Etymology 1

Akin to Northern Kurdish ka, Central Kurdish کوا (kwa), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷi-, *kʷo-. See there for cognates.

Pronunciation

(Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /ˈkuː/

(Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [kʰuː]
- (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [kʰuː]
- (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [kʰu]

(Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [kʰuː]

(Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [kʰu]

Readings
Classical reading^?	kū
Dari reading^?	kū
Iranian reading^?	ku
Tajik reading^?	ku

Rhymes: -uː

Adverb

کو • (ku)

(colloquial or poetic) where is...
Synonym: کجا ست (kojâ-st)

― medâd-et ku? ― Where is your pencil?

(colloquial) ― mard-e ku? ― Where is the man?
- c. 1260s, Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī, translated by Reynold A. Nicholson, مثنوی معنوی [Masnavi-ye-Ma'navi], volume III, verse 1174:
  بعد از آن گفتند ای مادر بیا / گور بابا کو تو ما را ره نما
  ba'd az ân goftand ey mâdar biy-â / gur-e bâbâ ku to mâ râ rah namâ
  Afterwards they said, "Come, O mother, where is our father's grave? Do thou show us the way."
- late 1300s, Xāja Shams-ud-Dīn Moḥammad Ḥāfeẓ-e Shīrāzī, “Ghazal 470 (Sīne mālāmāl-e dard ast)”, in دیوان حافظ [Divān of Ḥāfeẓ]:
  سوختم در چاه صبر از بهر آن شمع چگل
  شاه ترکان فارغ است از حال ما کو رستمی
  suxtam dar čâh-e sabr az bahr-e ân šam'-e čegel
  šâh-e torkân fâreġ ast az hâl-e mâ ku rostami
  I burnt in the well of patience on account of that candle of Chigil;
  The king of the Turks cares not for my condition, where is a Rostam?
(archaic) where
- 1197, Hakim Nizāmi Ganjavi, “baxš 28 (nešastan-e Bahrām ruz-e došanbe dar gonbad sabz o afsāne goftan doxtar-e pādšāh-e eqlim sevom)”, in هفت پیکر [Haft Peykar]:
  کو شد آن دعوی دوازده فن
  و آن همه مردی این نه مرد و نه زن
  ku šod ân davi davâzdah fan
  vânhame mardi in na mard o na zan
  (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Usage notes

Cannot be used by itself for asking about non-third person referrants. But can be used after attaching dummy pronoun ش:
kúšin?
Where are you?

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

(Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /ˈkoː/

(Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [kʰoː]
- (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [kʰoː]
- (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [kʰʊː]

(Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [kʰuː]

(Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [kʰɵ]

Readings
Classical reading^?	kō
Dari reading^?	kō
Iranian reading^?	ku
Tajik reading^?	kü

Noun

کو • (ku)

alternative form of (kuy, “street; city block”)

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

(Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /ˈkoː/

(Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [kʰoː]
- (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [kʰoː]
- (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [kʰʊː]

(Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [kʰuː]

(Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [kʰɵ]

Readings
Classical reading^?	kō
Dari reading^?	kō
Iranian reading^?	ku
Tajik reading^?	kü

Contraction

کو • (ku)

contraction of (ke) +‎ (u), literally “that he/she...; which...”
- c. 1260s, Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī, translated by Reynold A. Nicholson, مثنوی معنوی [Masnavi-ye-Ma'navi], volume III, verse 4:
  این چراغ شمس کو روشن بود / نه از فتیل و پنبه و روغن بود
  īn čirāġ šams k-ō rōšan būd / na az fatīl u panba u rōġan būd
  This lamp, the sun, which is bright—it is not by means of wick and cotton and oil.
  Classical Transliteration

Urdu

Etymology

Inherited from Middle Hindi کوں (kvṉ /⁠kū̃⁠/).^[1], from Old Hindi काहू (kāhū), काहु (kāhu), from Sauraseni Prakrit [Term?], from Sanskrit कक्षे (kákṣe, “in the armpit”), locative singular of कक्ष (kákṣa, “armpit”), from Proto-Indo-Aryan *káṭṣas, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *káćšas, from Proto-Indo-European *kóḱsos (“joint”).^[2] Compare Deccani کو (kū), Braj कौ (kau), Assamese -ক (-k).

The semantic development of the terms was in the armpit > at the side > towards > to. Deccani (and other Southern dialects of Hindustani) had a parallel development which also includes a locative sense.

Pronunciation

(Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /koː/

Postposition

کو • (ko)

marks the dative case: to
میرے بھائی کو پانی دیں۔
mere bhāī ko pānī dẽ.
Please give some water to my elder brother.

لاہور کو ― lāhaur ko ― to Lahore

اوپر کو ― ūpar ko ― upwards
in, at the time of
میں شام کو گھر لوٹوں گا۔
ma͠i śām ko ghar lauṭū̃ gā.
I will return home in the evening.

Usage notes

کو (ko) marks the dative. It can be used as a postfix similar to -wards (e.g. اوپر کو (ūpar ko, “upwards”); آگے کو (āge ko, “afterwards”)).

It is suffixed to oblique forms of pronouns as well, e.g. the dative of میں (ma͠i, “I”) is مجھ کو (mujh ko).

References

^ “کو”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
^ Reinöhl, Uta (2016), “The diverse origins of the Hindi simple postpositions”, in Grammaticalization and the Rise of Configurationality in Indo-Aryan, →ISBN

McGregor, Ronald Stuart (1993), “को”, in The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary, London: Oxford University Press
Platts, John T. (1884), “کو”, in A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English, London: W. H. Allen & Co.
Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985), “ká”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press

[1] “کو”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.

[2] Reinöhl, Uta (2016), “The diverse origins of the Hindi simple postpositions”, in Grammaticalization and the Rise of Configurationality in Indo-Aryan, →ISBN

[1]

[2]

	Singular	Plural
1^st person	saya¹ aku³	kita⁴ kami^{2 & 5} kita orang^{3 & 5}
2^nd person	awak¹ anda² awda⁸ (eng)kau³ kamu³	(2^nd person) + semua⁶ kalian² (eng)kau orang³
3^rd person	dia ia beliau⁷ -nya²	mereka² dia orang³