Possessive Pronouns

In Nepali, possession (“of/’s”) is expressed with the genitive marker -को (-ko) and its related forms -की (-kī) and -का (-kā), depending on the noun being possessed. With pronouns, possessive forms are formed in three main ways:

1. Some pronouns remain unchanged and simply take -को / -की / -का (-ko / -kī / -kā).

2. Some pronouns have fixed possessive forms, so the genitive marker is not added directly.

3. Some pronouns change to an oblique stem before taking -को / -की / -का (-ko / -kī / -kā).

1) Direct-case pronouns (unchanged)

Some Nepali pronouns form possessives in the simplest way: they remain in their direct form (the stem does not change) and take the genitive marker –को / –की / –का (–ko / –kī / –kā) directly.

The key point is that the genitive ending agrees with the noun being possessed, not with the pronoun itself. For example, तपाईं (tapāī̃) becomes तपाईंको (tapāī̃ko) “your,” and उहाँ (uhā̃) becomes उहाँको (uhā̃ko) “his/her.”

Table 4.4.1 – Possessive pronouns: direct-case forms (add –को/–की/–का)

2) Special possessive forms (no -को)

Some Nepali pronouns do not form possession by adding –को / –की / –का (–ko / –kī / –kā). Instead, they have fixed possessive forms that must be learned as whole words. In these cases, the genitive suffix is not used because the possessive meaning is already built into the form.

For example, म (ma) becomes मेरो (mero) “my,” हामी (hāmī) becomes हाम्रो (hāmro) “our,” and तिमी (timī) becomes तिम्रो (timro) “your (informal).” These are very high-frequency forms in everyday Nepali and should be memorized as core vocabulary.

Table 4.4.2 – Possessive pronouns: Special possessive forms (fixed forms)

3) Oblique-stem pronouns

Some Nepali pronouns form possessives in two steps. First, the pronoun changes from its direct form to an oblique stem (a modified base form used before case markers). Then the genitive marker –को / –की / –का (–ko / –kī / –kā) is attached to that oblique stem.

This pattern is especially common with demonstratives and third-person pronouns, so it appears frequently in both spoken and written Nepali.

For example, यो (yo) becomes यस (yas) + –को → यस्को (yasko) “of this / this person’s,” and त्यो (tyo) becomes त्यस (tyas) + –को → त्यस्को (tyasko) “of that.”

As always, the genitive ending agrees with the noun being possessed (the owned item), not with the pronoun.

Table 4.4.3 – Possessive pronouns: oblique stems + –को/–की/–का

Note: The genitive form agrees with the noun that is owned (the possessed noun), not with the pronoun (the possessor).

Ownership with -को, -की, -का

In Nepali, ownership—equivalent to English ’s or “of”—is expressed using the genitive marker -को / -की / -का (-ko / -kī / -kā). This marker links an owner to the thing being owned and attaches directly to nouns and proper names, functioning similarly to the English apostrophe-s.

For example, “Ram’s book” is expressed by adding -को to the owner’s name.

This genitive construction is used for general ownership or association. It is distinct from constructions with -सँग (-saṅga) or -सित (-sita), which indicate possession in the sense of physical association or “with someone” at a particular moment rather than permanent ownership.

Agreement of -को / -की / -का

In Nepali, the genitive marker –को (-ko) changes form based on the thing being owned (the possessed noun)—not the owner.

Simple rule

• –को (-ko) → singular nouns

• –की (-kī) → singular female person

• –का (-kā) → plural nouns

Table 4.4.4 – –को/–की/–का agreement (possessed noun controls)

Possession vs. Ownership in Nepali

In Nepali, “having something” and “belonging to someone” are expressed using two different grammatical patterns.

To express that someone has or does not have something, Nepali typically uses the existence verb छ / छन् (cha / chan) and its negative form छैन (chaina). The possessor is marked with the genitive –को (-ko). This pattern describes what exists in relation to a person.

To express ownership or identity (“something belongs to someone”), Nepali uses an identity construction with हो / होइन (ho / hoina). This links the item directly to its owner, again using –को (-ko) to mark possession.

In short:

• Possession = existence (“someone has something”)

• Ownership = identity (“something is someone’s”)

1) “Have / do not have” (Possession)

Use this pattern to describe what someone has or does not have.

Structure:

[Person + –को (-ko)] + [Thing] + छ / छन् (cha / chan) / छैन (chaina)

Important point:

The thing being possessed is the grammatical subject, so the verb agrees with it.

Meaning focus:

Describes what exists in relation to a person (“what is with someone”).

Table 4.4.5 – “Have / do not have”: possession with छ/छन्, छैन

2) “Belongs to / is someone’s” (Ownership)

Use this pattern when identifying who something belongs to.

Structure:

[Thing] + [Person + –को (-ko)] + हो / होइन (ho / hoina)

Important point:

The sentence expresses identity (X = Y), not existence.

Meaning focus:

Identifies ownership as a property of the item (“what something is”).

Table 4.4.6 – “Belongs to”: ownership with हो/होइन

Chains of Ownership

In Nepali, you can express multiple levels of possession by stacking genitive phrases using –को (-ko) / –की (-kī) / –का (-kā). This creates a chain of ownership meaning “A’s B’s C…”

Each genitive phrase modifies the noun that follows it, so meaning is built step by step from left to right.

Key idea:

Each –को phrase attaches to the next noun and passes ownership along the chain.

Usage note:

These chains are common in Nepali, but very long sequences can become difficult to process. In natural speech, speakers often shorten them or split them into two sentences for clarity.

Table 4.4.7 – Chains of ownership (stacked –को phrases)

Asking “Whose?” Questions

To ask “whose?” in Nepali, use the interrogative possessive forms कस्को (kasko), कस्की (kaskī), and कस्का (kaskā).

These forms function like the genitive markers –को (-ko) / –की (-kī) / –का (-kā). They agree with the noun being possessed (the thing owned), not with the owner.

In other words, the form of “whose” is chosen based on the noun that follows it:

• कस्को (kasko) → singular masculine or general nouns

• कस्की (kaskī) → singular feminine human nouns

• कस्का (kaskā) → plural nouns

Key idea:

Match कस्को / कस्की / कस्का to the possessed noun, not to the owner.

Which form to use

Table 4.4.8 – Choosing कस्को/कस्की/कस्का by owned noun type