वह

See also: वह्, वही, वहाँ, and वाह

Hindi

Etymology

Uncertain.

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

For Old Hindi वो (vo), Chatterji suggested a derivation from Sauraseni 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 वे (ve) as well, while the first does not. See there for more.

Pronunciation

• (Delhi Hindi) IPA^(key): /ʋəɦ/, /ʋoː/

• Audio

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Pronoun

वह • (vah) (Urdu spelling وہ‎) (demonstrative)

1. that

   वह मकान बड़ा है। ― vah makān baṛā hai. ― That house is large.

2. (distal) he, she, it; that one (distal third person singular personal pronoun)

   वह छोटा है। ― vah choṭā hai. ― He is small.

   वह छोटी है। ― vah choṭī hai. ― She is small.

Inflection

Pronoun declension of वह

	singular	plural
direct	वह vah	वे ve
indirect	उस us	उन un
ergative	उसने usne	उन्होंने unhõne
genitive	उसका uskā	उनका unkā
dative	उसे, उसको use, usko	उन्हें, उनको unhẽ, unko
instrumental/ablative	उससे usse	उनसे unse
inessive	उसमें usmẽ	उनमें unmẽ
adessive	उसपे, उसपर uspe, uspar	उनपे, उनपर unpe, unpar
terminative	उसतक ustak	उनतक untak
semblative	उससा ussā	उनसा unsā

Coordinate terms

• यह (yah)

Further reading

• McGregor, Ronald Stuart (1993), “वह”, in The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary, London: Oxford University Press
• Platts, John T. (1884), “वह”, in A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English, London: W. H. Allen & Co.