A1 Honorifics & Register 1 min read Leicht

The Three Levels of 'You': Tu, Tum, Aap

Als gelernt markieren
Jetzt üben

Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

Urdu uses three different words for 'you' based on the level of respect and intimacy you want to show.

  • Use 'Tu' for intimate friends, family, or God (e.g., Tu kaisa hai?).
  • Use 'Tum' for casual acquaintances or peers (e.g., Tum kahan ja rahe ho?).
  • Use 'Aap' for elders, strangers, or formal settings (e.g., Aap kaise hain?).
Tu (Intimate) < Tum (Casual) < Aap (Formal)

Pronoun and Verb Agreement

Pronoun Level Verb (to be) Example
Aap
Formal
hain
Aap hain
Tum
Casual
ho
Tum ho
Tu
Intimate
hai
Tu hai

Meanings

Urdu pronouns for 'you' are determined by the social distance and respect level between speakers.

1

Aap (Formal)

Used for respect, strangers, and professional settings.

“Aap kya karte hain?”

“Aap ka naam kya hai?”

2

Tum (Casual)

Used for friends, siblings, and people younger than you.

“Tum kab aaoge?”

“Tum ne khana khaya?”

3

Tu (Intimate)

Used for very close relationships or in religious contexts.

“Tu mera dost hai.”

“Tu kahan gaya tha?”

Reference Table

Reference table for The Three Levels of 'You': Tu, Tum, Aap
Form Structure Example
Formal
Aap + Verb(plural)
Aap ja rahe hain
Casual
Tum + Verb(casual)
Tum ja rahe ho
Intimate
Tu + Verb(singular)
Tu ja raha hai
Negative
Pronoun + nahi + Verb
Aap nahi ja rahe hain
Question
Kya + Pronoun + Verb?
Kya aap ja rahe hain?
Polite
Aap + Verb(imperative)
Aap aaiye

Formalitätsspektrum

Formell
Aap kaise hain?

Aap kaise hain? (Greeting)

Neutral
Tum kaise ho?

Tum kaise ho? (Greeting)

Informell
Tu kaisa hai?

Tu kaisa hai? (Greeting)

Umgangssprache
Kya scene hai?

Kya scene hai? (Greeting)

The Honorific Pyramid

You

Formal

  • Aap Respectful

Casual

  • Tum Peer

Intimate

  • Tu Close
Registriere dich kostenlos für die vollständige Erklärung

Beispiele nach Niveau

1

Aap kaise hain?

How are you? (formal)

2

Tum kahan ho?

Where are you? (casual)

3

Tu mera dost hai.

You are my friend. (intimate)

4

Aap kya chahte hain?

What do you want? (formal)

1

Aap ko kya chahiye?

What do you need? (formal)

2

Tum ne khana khaya?

Did you eat? (casual)

3

Tu kab aa raha hai?

When are you coming? (intimate)

4

Aap yahan baithiye.

Please sit here. (formal)

1

Aap ko meri baat samajh aayi?

Did you understand me? (formal)

2

Tumhe pata hai kya hua?

Do you know what happened? (casual)

3

Tu mujhse jhoot bol raha hai?

Are you lying to me? (intimate)

4

Aap ka din kaisa raha?

How was your day? (formal)

1

Aap ko is mamle mein kya lagta hai?

What do you think about this matter? (formal)

2

Tumhe iski zaroorat nahi honi chahiye.

You shouldn't need this. (casual)

3

Tu bas chup kar.

Just shut up. (intimate/aggressive)

4

Aap se mil kar khushi hui.

Nice to meet you. (formal)

1

Aap ki raaye ka hum ehtram karte hain.

We respect your opinion. (formal)

2

Tumhe kya lagta hai, kya ye sahi hai?

What do you think, is this right? (casual)

3

Tu hi toh mera sab kuch hai.

You are my everything. (intimate)

4

Aap ko takleef dene ke liye maafi chahta hoon.

I apologize for troubling you. (formal)

1

Aap tashreef rakhein.

Please be seated. (very formal)

2

Tumhe toh bas masti sujhti hai.

You only think about fun. (casual)

3

Tu mere dil ke kareeb hai.

You are close to my heart. (intimate)

4

Aap ki tashreef-awari ka shukriya.

Thank you for your presence. (very formal)

Leicht verwechselbar

The Three Levels of 'You': Tu, Tum, Aap vs. Aap vs Tum

Learners often use Tum when they should use Aap.

The Three Levels of 'You': Tu, Tum, Aap vs. Tum vs Tu

Learners think Tu is just a shorter Tum.

The Three Levels of 'You': Tu, Tum, Aap vs. Verb Agreement

Mixing verb endings.

Häufige Fehler

✗

Tu kaise ho?

✓

Tu kaisa hai?

Verb agreement error.
✗

Aap ho?

✓

Aap hain?

Wrong verb for formal.
✗

Tum hai?

✓

Tum ho?

Wrong verb for casual.
✗

Aap kaisa hai?

✓

Aap kaise hain?

Adjective agreement error.
✗

Aap ja raha hai.

✓

Aap ja rahe hain.

Formal pluralization.
✗

Tu kahan ja rahe ho?

✓

Tu kahan ja raha hai?

Verb mismatch.
✗

Tum kaisa hai?

✓

Tum kaise ho?

Adjective agreement.
✗

Aap ne khaya?

✓

Aap ne khana khaya?

Missing object.
✗

Tum ko kya chahiye?

✓

Tumhe kya chahiye?

Wrong pronoun form.
✗

Aap ka naam kya hai?

✓

Aap ka naam kya hai?

Actually correct, but often mispronounced.
✗

Aap ne bola.

✓

Aap ne farmaya.

Need honorific verb.
✗

Tum aaye.

✓

Tum aaye ho.

Tense error.
✗

Tu aaye.

✓

Tu aaya hai.

Gender/Number error.

Satzmuster

___ kaise hain?

___ kahan ja rahe ho?

___ kya kar raha hai?

___ ne khana khaya?

Real World Usage

Job Interview constant

Aap ka tajurba kya hai?

Texting Friend very common

Tum kab aa rahe ho?

Ordering Food common

Aap mujhe biryani dein.

Talking to God occasional

Tu hi mera sahara hai.

Social Media common

Aap ki post achi hai.

Travel common

Aap kahan ja rahe hain?

Registriere dich kostenlos, um alle Beispiele zu sehen
💡

When in doubt, use Aap.

It is better to be too polite than rude.
⚠️

Avoid Tu with strangers.

It can be seen as an insult.
🎯

Listen to others.

Observe how native speakers address each other.
💬

Respect elders.

Always use Aap with anyone older than you.

Smart Tips

Always start with Aap.

Tum kaise ho? → Aap kaise hain?

Use Tum to sound natural.

Aap kya kar rahe hain? → Tum kya kar rahe ho?

Use Tu for intimacy.

Tum kaisi ho? → Tu kaisi hai?

Observe the other person.

Using the wrong pronoun. → Matching their register.

Aussprache

/ɑːp/

Aap

The 'p' is aspirated.

/tʊm/

Tum

The 'u' is short.

/tuː/

Tu

The 'u' is long.

Question

Aap kaise hain? ↗

Rising intonation for questions.

Einprägen

Eselsbrücke

Aap is for the App-ointment (formal), Tum is for the Team (casual), Tu is for the True love (intimate).

Visuelle Assoziation

Imagine a ladder. Aap is at the top (respect), Tum is in the middle (friends), Tu is at the bottom (intimate/ground level).

Rhyme

Aap for the boss, Tum for the friend, Tu for the love, until the end.

Story

Ali meets his boss and says 'Aap'. Then he sees his friend and says 'Tum'. Finally, he whispers to his wife, 'Tu'.

Word Web

AapTumTuRespectCasualIntimateRegister

Herausforderung

Write three sentences saying 'How are you?' using all three pronouns.

Kulturelle Hinweise

Aap is used even with older siblings.

Aap is standard for elders.

Tu is used in poetry for God.

These pronouns evolved from Sanskrit and Persian influences.

Gesprächseinstiege

“

Aap ka naam kya hai?

“

Tumhe kya pasand hai?

“

Aap ko Urdu kyun pasand hai?

“

Tumhe lagta hai ki ye sahi hai?

Tagebuch-Impulse

Write about your teacher using 'Aap'.
Write a text to your friend using 'Tum'.
Describe a conversation with a stranger.
Write a poem to a loved one using 'Tu'.

Häufige Fehler

Incorrect

Richtig

Incorrect

Richtig

Incorrect

Richtig

Incorrect

Richtig

Sign up free to see all tips

Test Yourself

Choose the correct pronoun for a boss. Multiple Choice

___ kaise hain?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Aap
Aap is formal.
Fill in the verb.

Tum kahan ja rahe ___?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ho
Tum takes ho.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Tu kaise hain?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Tu kaisa hai?
Tu takes singular.
Make formal. Sentence Transformation

Tum kahan ho? -> ?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Aap kahan hain?
Aap takes hain.
Match pronoun to level. Match Pairs

Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Formal, Casual, Intimate
Correct mapping.
Build a sentence. Sentence Building

Aap / kya / hain / kar / rahe

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Aap kya kar rahe hain?
Correct word order.
Which is best for a close friend? Multiple Choice

___ mera dost hai.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Tu
Tu is intimate.
Fill in the verb.

Aap kya ___?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: karte hain
Aap takes plural.

Score: /8

Ubungsaufgaben

8 exercises
Choose the correct pronoun for a boss. Multiple Choice

___ kaise hain?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Aap
Aap is formal.
Fill in the verb.

Tum kahan ja rahe ___?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: ho
Tum takes ho.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Tu kaise hain?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Tu kaisa hai?
Tu takes singular.
Make formal. Sentence Transformation

Tum kahan ho? -> ?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Aap kahan hain?
Aap takes hain.
Match pronoun to level. Match Pairs

Aap - ?, Tum - ?, Tu - ?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Formal, Casual, Intimate
Correct mapping.
Build a sentence. Sentence Building

Aap / kya / hain / kar / rahe

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Aap kya kar rahe hain?
Correct word order.
Which is best for a close friend? Multiple Choice

___ mera dost hai.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Tu
Tu is intimate.
Fill in the verb.

Aap kya ___?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: karte hain
Aap takes plural.

Score: /8

FAQ (8)

Yes, but it might sound formal or distant.

It implies a lack of social distance.

No, always use Aap.

Look at the age and status of the person.

Yes, each pronoun has a specific verb form.

Grammatically yes, but used for one person.

People will understand, but try to be polite.

Yes, but these are the main ones.

Scaffolded Practice

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

Registriere dich kostenlos zum Üben

In Other Languages

Spanish high

Usted/Tú

Urdu has three levels, Spanish has two.

French high

Vous/Tu

Urdu's Tu is more intimate than French Tu.

German high

Sie/Du

Urdu's system is more complex.

Japanese moderate

Anata/Omae

Japanese pronouns are often omitted.

Arabic moderate

Antum/Anta

Arabic uses plural for respect.

Chinese moderate

Nin/Ni

Chinese is less pronoun-heavy.

Learning Path

Prerequisites

Connected Grammar

Verb Conjugation

Prerequisite

You need to know verbs to use pronouns.

Possessive Pronouns

Builds On

These follow the same honorific rules.

Previous
First Person: Main and Hum
Next
Third Person: Yeh and Woh
Was this helpful?

Kommentare (0)

Zum Kommentieren Anmelden
Noch keine Kommentare. Sei der Erste, der seine Gedanken teilt!