A0 Questions 1 min read Facile

Asking 'What is this/that?' (এটা কী? - Eta ki?)

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Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

To ask 'What is this?', simply place 'কী' (ki) at the end of your sentence.

  • Use 'এটা' (eta) for 'this' and 'ওটা' (ota) for 'that'.
  • Add 'কী' (ki) at the end to turn a statement into a question.
  • Always include the question mark (?) in writing.
Subject (এটা/ওটা) + কী (ki) + ?

3. Basic Question Formation

Subject Particle Question English
এটা
কী
এটা কী?
What is this?
ওটা
কী
ওটা কী?
What is that?
এটা
কী বই
এটা কী বই?
What book is this?
ওটা
কী ফল
ওটা কী ফল?
What fruit is that?
তুমি
কী
তুমি কী?
What are you? (rare)
সে
কী
সে কী?
What is he/she?

Meanings

The construction is used to identify objects or concepts by asking for their name or nature.

1

Identification

Asking for the identity of an object.

“এটা কী?”

“ওটা কী?”

Reference Table

Reference table for Asking 'What is this/that?' (এটা কী? - Eta ki?)
Type Structure Example
Basic
Subject + Ki
এটা কী?
Noun-based
Subject + Ki + Noun
এটা কী বই?
Distance
Ota + Ki
ওটা কী?
Person
Subject + Ke
এটা কে?
Reason
Subject + Ki + Jonno
এটা কী জন্য?
Method
Subject + Ki + Diye
এটা কী দিয়ে?

Spectre de formalité

Formel
এটি কী?

এটি কী? (General)

Neutre
এটা কী?

এটা কী? (General)

Informel
এটা কী?

এটা কী? (General)

Argot
কী এটা?

কী এটা? (General)

Question Word Map

Interrogatives

Objects

  • কী What

People

  • কে Who
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Exemples par niveau

1

এটা কী?

What is this?

2

ওটা কী?

What is that?

3

এটা কী বই?

What book is this?

4

ওটা কী ফল?

What fruit is that?

1

তুমি কী করছ?

What are you doing?

2

এটা কী জিনিস?

What thing is this?

3

ওটা কী খাবার?

What food is that?

4

এটা কী রঙ?

What color is this?

1

তুমি কী বলতে চাও?

What do you want to say?

2

এটা কী ধরনের কাজ?

What kind of work is this?

3

ওটা কীসের শব্দ?

What is that sound?

4

তুমি কী ভাবছ?

What are you thinking?

1

তোমার কী মনে হয়?

What do you think?

2

এটা কী কারণে হলো?

For what reason did this happen?

3

তুমি কীসের জন্য অপেক্ষা করছ?

What are you waiting for?

4

এটা কী দিয়ে তৈরি?

What is this made of?

1

কী এমন হলো যে তুমি এলে না?

What happened that you didn't come?

2

তুমি কীসের ভিত্তিতে এটা বললে?

On what basis did you say this?

3

কী জানি কী হতে পারে!

Who knows what might happen!

4

এটা কী আর বলার অপেক্ষা রাখে?

Does this need to be said?

1

কী অদ্ভূত কাণ্ড!

What a strange thing!

2

কী যে করি!

What on earth should I do!

3

কী বা এসে যায় তাতে?

What does it matter anyway?

4

কী না জানি কী ঘটে!

Who knows what might happen!

Facile à confondre

Asking 'What is this/that?' (এটা কী? - Eta ki?) vs Ki vs Ke

Learners mix up 'what' and 'who'.

Asking 'What is this/that?' (এটা কী? - Eta ki?) vs Eta vs Ota

Learners mix up 'this' and 'that'.

Asking 'What is this/that?' (এটা কী? - Eta ki?) vs Ki (Question) vs Ki (Yes/No)

Learners don't know how to distinguish.

Erreurs courantes

✗

কী এটা?

✓

এটা কী?

Bengali uses Subject-Object-Verb order.
✗

এটা কে?

✓

এটা কী?

Use 'ke' for people, 'ki' for objects.
✗

এটা কি?

✓

এটা কী?

The long 'i' is required for the question word.
✗

ওটা কী?

✓

এটা কী?

Confusion between near and far.
✗

কী বই এটা?

✓

এটা কী বই?

Keep the subject at the start.
✗

এটা কী হয়?

✓

এটা কী?

Unnecessary verb usage.
✗

ওটা কীসের?

✓

ওটা কী?

Using possessive instead of base.
✗

তুমি কী করছ?

✓

তুমি কী করছ?

Correct, but ensure intonation.
✗

এটা কী জন্য?

✓

এটা কী?

Over-complicating simple questions.
✗

কী এটা?

✓

এটা কী?

Still reverting to English order.
✗

কী জানি কী?

✓

কী জানি কী!

Missing exclamatory tone.
✗

এটা কী না?

✓

এটা কী?

Redundant negation.
✗

কী যে এটা!

✓

এটা কী!

Word order for emphasis.

Structures de phrases

___ কী?

এটা কী ___?

তুমি কী ___?

___ কী দিয়ে তৈরি?

Real World Usage

Market constant

এটা কী?

Texting very common

ওটা কী?

Classroom common

এটা কী?

Travel common

ওটা কী?

Food Delivery occasional

এটা কী খাবার?

Social Media common

কী এটা?

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💡

Keep it simple

Don't overthink the grammar. Just use 'Eta ki?'.
⚠️

Watch the 'ke'

Don't use 'ke' for objects.
🎯

Use intonation

Your voice should rise at the end.
💬

Be polite

Add 'dada' or 'didi' to be polite.

Smart Tips

Always use 'ki'.

এটা কে? → এটা কী?

Use 'ota' for far objects.

এটা কী? (pointing far) → ওটা কী? (pointing far)

Add the noun.

এটা কী? → এটা কী ফল?

Raise your pitch.

Eta ki (flat) → Eta ki? (rising)

Prononciation

/kiː/

Ki

Pronounced with a long 'ee' sound.

Rising

Eta ki? ↑

Genuine question.

Mémorise-le

Moyen mnémotechnique

Think of 'Ki' as 'Key'. You need the 'Key' to unlock the answer to your question.

Association visuelle

Imagine holding a mysterious box. You point at it and say 'Eta ki?'. The box opens when you say the magic word 'Ki'.

Rhyme

Point at the cat, point at the tree, just say 'Eta ki?' and you will see.

Story

Rina is in a market. She sees a strange fruit. She points and asks the seller, 'Eta ki?'. The seller smiles and tells her the name. Rina is happy she learned a new word.

Word Web

এটাওটাকীকেজিনিসফল

Défi

Point at 5 objects in your room and ask 'Eta ki?' out loud.

Notes culturelles

Very common in daily life, often used with a smile.

Standard usage, very polite.

Used to maintain connection to the language.

Derived from Sanskrit interrogative roots.

Amorces de conversation

“

এটা কী?

“

ওটা কী?

“

তুমি কী করছ?

“

তোমার কী মনে হয়?

Sujets d'écriture

Describe 3 things you see and ask what they are.
Write a dialogue in a market.
Ask your friend about their day.
Discuss a complex object.

Erreurs courantes

Incorrect

Correct

Incorrect

Correct

Incorrect

Correct

Incorrect

Correct

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Test Yourself

Fill in the blank.

এটা ___?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Ki is for objects.
Choose the correct sentence. Choix multiple

Which is correct?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: b
Subject-Object order.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

কী এটা?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Subject first.
Reorder the words. Sentence Reorder

Arrange the words in the correct order:

All words placed

Click words above to build the sentence

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: b
Correct order.
Translate to Bengali. Traduction

What is that?

Answer starts with: b...

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: b
Ota is that.
Match the word to meaning. Match Pairs

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

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: b
Correct definitions.
Complete the dialogue. Dialogue Completion

A: ___? B: এটা বই।

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Asking about an object.
Sort by category. Grammar Sorting

Sort 'Ki' and 'Ke'.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Correct categorization.

Score: /8

Exercices pratiques

8 exercises
Fill in the blank.

এটা ___?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Ki is for objects.
Choose the correct sentence. Choix multiple

Which is correct?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: b
Subject-Object order.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

কী এটা?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Subject first.
Reorder the words. Sentence Reorder

কী / এটা

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: b
Correct order.
Translate to Bengali. Traduction

What is that?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: b
Ota is that.
Match the word to meaning. Match Pairs

Match 'Ki' and 'Ke'.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: b
Correct definitions.
Complete the dialogue. Dialogue Completion

A: ___? B: এটা বই।

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Asking about an object.
Sort by category. Grammar Sorting

Sort 'Ki' and 'Ke'.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Correct categorization.

Score: /8

FAQ (8)

It's the natural word order in Bengali.

No, use 'ke'.

Yes, it's a demonstrative pronoun.

Use 'Eta ki boi?'.

It sounds like you are calling the book a person.

It's neutral.

Use 'Ota'.

Yes, like 'kothay' (where).

Scaffolded Practice

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

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In Other Languages

Spanish moderate

¿Qué es esto?

Word order.

French low

Qu'est-ce que c'est?

Complexity.

German moderate

Was ist das?

Verb placement.

Japanese high

Kore wa nan desu ka?

Particle type.

Arabic moderate

Ma hadha?

Prefix vs Suffix.

Chinese moderate

Zhe shi shenme?

Tone.

Learning Path

Prerequisites

Previous
Asking 'What?' (কী? - Ki?)
Next
Responding to 'What?' Questions

Related Grammar Rules

A1

Asking 'Who?' (কে? - Ke?)
A2

Asking 'How much?' (কত? - Koto?)
A1

Asking 'When?' (কখন? - Kokhon?)
A1

Asking 'Why?' (কেন? - Keno?)
A0

Responding to 'What?' Questions
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