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Intermediate

Honorifics & Politeness

تو / تم / آپ and agreement

تو / تم / آپ scale up politeness

And take different verb forms.

📊 Politeness levels
Pronoun Verb form Use
تو tū singular (ہے) intimate / God / rude
تم tum plural-ish (ہو) friends, juniors
آپ āp plural (ہیں) respect, elders, strangers
💬 Examples
تو کہاں ہے؟
tū kahān hai?
Where are you? (intimate)
📝 تو + ہے (singular)
آپ کہاں ہیں؟
āp kahān hain?
Where are you? (polite)
📝 آپ + ہیں (plural for respect)
آپ uses plural verbs even for one person

Respect = grammatical plural.

💬 Examples
آپ بیٹھیں۔
āp baiṭhen.
Please sit. (polite)
📝 Plural form for one respected person
آپ نے کیا کہا؟
āp ne kya kahā?
What did you say? (polite)
📝 آپ + نے
Commands scale with the pronoun

کر (tū) / کرو (tum) / کیجیے (āp).

💬 Examples
بیٹھو۔
baiṭho.
Sit. (casual, tum)
📝 تم command
تشریف رکھیے۔
tashrīf rakhiye.
Please be seated. (very polite)
📝 آپ command (honorific verb)