A2 · Joining clauses
That: the conjunction कि
the conjunction that
कि introduces what is said, thought or known; it follows the main clause and, unlike English “that”, stays in the sentence.
At a glance
- Remember
- Ki with a short i means "that"; it follows the main clause and stays where English drops "that".
- Form
- मुझे पता है कि …I know that
- Signal words
- कि
- लगता है कि
- पता है कि
- इतना … कि
- Trap
- Wrong:मुझे लगता है की वह आएगा।Right:मुझे लगता है कि वह आएगा।
Your turn
10 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
The form
The patterns at a glance
Each row first says when or what the pattern is used for, then gives an example in Hindi.
| I know that | मुझे पता है कि … |
| I think that | मुझे लगता है कि … |
| he said that | उसने कहा कि … |
| it looks as if | ऐसा लगता है कि … |
| the thing is that | बात यह है कि … |
| so … that | इतना … कि … |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
कि follows the main clause and introduces its content.
मैं जानता हूँ कि आप व्यस्त हैं।I know you are busy.
It stays, even where English drops “that”.
मुझे लगता है कि वह सही है।I think he is right.
यह or ऐसा in the main clause can point ahead to the कि clause.
सच यह है कि मुझे डर लग रहा था।The truth is that I was scared.
इतना … कि means “so … that”.
वह इतना थका था कि तुरंत सो गया।He was so tired that he fell asleep at once.
Example sentences
मुझे लगता है कि आज बारिश होगी।I think it will rain today.
क्या आपको पता है कि दुकान कब खुलती है?Do you know when the shop opens?
उसने कहा कि वह कल आएगा।He said he would come tomorrow.
अच्छा हुआ कि आप आ गए।It is good that you came.
ऐसा लगता है कि कोई घर पर नहीं है।It looks as if nobody is at home.
मुझे उम्मीद है कि आपको यह पसंद आएगा।I hope you will like it.
6 more example sentences
मैंने सोचा कि आप नहीं आएँगे।I thought you weren’t coming.
यह सच है कि वह बहुत मेहनत करती है।It is true that she works very hard.
मुझे नहीं पता कि वह कहाँ रहता है।I don’t know where he lives.
बात यह है कि मेरे पास समय नहीं है।The thing is, I have no time.
खाना इतना तीखा था कि मेरी आँखों में आँसू आ गए।The food was so spicy that tears came to my eyes.
डॉक्टर ने कहा कि चिंता की कोई बात नहीं है।The doctor said there was nothing to worry about.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
की, with a long ी, is the postposition, as in राम की किताब. The conjunction “that” is कि, with a short ि. They sound nearly the same, so the mistake is made in writing, not in speech.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
After verbs of saying, thinking, knowing and feeling, Hindi joins the content with कि, “that”: मैं जानता हूँ कि आप व्यस्त हैं, “I know (that) you are busy”. English often drops “that”; standard Hindi keeps कि.
Here Hindi breaks its own rule of the verb at the end: the main clause comes first, complete with its verb, and the कि clause follows it. मुझे लगता है कि आज बारिश होगी: “it seems to me — that it will rain today”.
The commonest frames are मुझे लगता है कि (“I think”), मुझे पता है कि (“I know”), मैं सोचता हूँ कि, उसने कहा कि and क्या आपको मालूम है कि. A यह or ऐसा in the main clause can announce the कि clause: बात यह है कि …, “the thing is that …”; ऐसा लगता है कि …, “it looks as if …”.
Do not confuse कि with की. They sound almost alike, but की, with a long vowel, is the feminine of the postposition का; कि, with a short one, is the conjunction. Even native writers mix them up, and it is worth getting right from the start.
A closer look
कि before a question
English “I don’t know where he lives” turns a question into a clause. Hindi keeps the question as it is and puts कि in front: मुझे नहीं पता कि वह कहाँ रहता है. The question word stays inside the clause, in its usual place. A yes–no question can end in या नहीं: मुझे नहीं पता कि वह आएगा या नहीं, “I don’t know whether he will come”.
Two more uses
कि can also mean “when suddenly” after a clause of time: मैं निकलने ही वाला था कि फ़ोन बजा, “I was just about to leave when the phone rang”. And in relaxed speech it can mean “or” in a question: चाय कि कॉफ़ी?
Worth knowing (2)
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No backshift
The कि clause keeps the tense of the thought itself: “I thought the door was closed” is मुझे लगा कि दरवाज़ा बंद है, with है, because the thought was “the door is closed”.
मैंने सोचा कि आप व्यस्त हैं।I thought you were busy.
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As if: जैसे and मानो
For “as if”, Hindi uses जैसे or मानो, often after ऐसा लगा: ऐसा लगा मानो कोई दरवाज़े पर है.
ऐसा लगा जैसे कोई मुझे बुला रहा है।It felt as if someone was calling me.
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