Bengali Question Words: Ke, Ki, Kothay, Kobe, Keno

You cannot have a real conversation in Bengali without question words. Not because questions are exotic grammatical territory — they are structurally simple in Bengali — but because the six core interrogatives are what give you the ability to get information rather than just deliver it. কে (ke, who), কী (ki, what), কোথায় (kothay, where), কবে (kobe, when), কেন (keno, why), কীভাবে (kibhabe, how): these six words will carry you through more real conversations than the first five grammar units of most textbooks combined.

This post covers each question word, shows where it sits in a Bengali sentence, explains the yes/no question construction that uses কি differently from কী, and gives 20 example exchanges with likely answers.

The Six Core Question Words

Bengali distinguishes between কী (ki, what — long vowel, indicating content) and কি (ki, a yes/no particle — short vowel). In standard Bengali script, the long vowel is marked with ী while the short one uses ি. This distinction matters enough that confusing them produces a different type of sentence. More on this below.

Bengali Script	Romanization	IPA	English
কে	ke	/ke/	who
কী	ki	/ki/	what (content question)
কোথায়	kothay	/kot̪ʰaj/	where
কবে	kobe	/kɔbe/	when
কেন	keno	/kenɔ/	why
কীভাবে	kibhabe	/kibʱabe/	how
কতটুকু / কত	kotokuku / koto	/kɔt̪ɔ/	how much / how many
কোন	kon	/kɔn/	which

কত (koto, how much) deserves special mention because it is immediately practical. The first question most travelers need is কত টাকা? (koto taka?, "how much money?" / "how much does it cost?"). Short, two words, indispensable.

কোন (kon, which) is structurally an adjective that precedes a noun: কোন বাস? (kon bash?, "which bus?"), কোন দিন? (kon din?, "which day?"). It attaches to the noun it modifies rather than standing alone the way the other question words typically do.

Where Question Words Go in a Sentence

Bengali word order is Subject-Object-Verb (SOV). In English, wh-words move to the front of the sentence regardless of their role: "What did you eat?" rather than "You ate what?" Bengali keeps the question word in the position the answer would occupy. This is called wh-in-situ construction, and it means the sentence structure stays stable whether you're asking or telling.

Compare:

Statement: তুমি ভাত খাচ্ছ। (Tumi bhaat khachho., "You are eating rice.") — SOV structure
Question: তুমি কী খাচ্ছ? (Tumi ki khachho?, "What are you eating?") — কী replaces ভাত where the object sits

The question word slides into the slot the answer would occupy. Object answers go in object position; subject answers go in subject position.

কে গান গাইছে? (Ke gaan gaichhe?, "Who is singing?") — ke in subject position
তুমি কোথায় যাচ্ছ? (Tumi kothay jaccho?, "Where are you going?") — kothay in the location/adverb slot

One exception to note: কেন (keno, why) can appear at the start of a sentence for emphasis or surprise, similar to how English can move "Why" to the front. কেন করলে? (Keno korle?, "Why did you do [that]?") places keno first for rhetorical sharpness. The baseline position is still in the slot where the reason would appear, but fronting is common and natural.

Yes/No Questions with কি

This is the structural feature that confuses most learners. Bengali forms yes/no questions by adding কি (ki, short vowel) — a particle, not the content-question word — to the sentence, typically near the beginning, just after the subject.

Structure: [Subject] + কি + [rest of sentence]?

Compare these pairs:

Statement	Question
তুমি যাচ্ছ। (Tumi jaccho. — You are going.)	তুমি কি যাচ্ছ? (Tumi ki jaccho? — Are you going?)
সে বাংলা জানে। (She bangla jane. — She knows Bengali.)	সে কি বাংলা জানে? (She ki bangla jane? — Does she know Bengali?)
বাস আসবে। (Bash ashbe. — The bus will come.)	বাস কি আসবে? (Bash ki ashbe? — Will the bus come?)

The ki particle doesn't change meaning on its own — it signals to the listener that what follows requires a yes/no answer rather than information. Drop the particle and the statement returns. This is one of the most regular and learnable structures in Bengali grammar.

Answers:

হ্যাঁ (hyan, yes) — the initial hy sounds like the h in "hello" followed by a slight nasal quality
না (na, no) — simple dental nasal, no aspiration

A complete exchange:

— তুমি কি কফি খাবে? (Tumi ki kofi khabe?)
— হ্যাঁ, খাব। (Hyan, khabo.)
"Will you have coffee? — Yes, I will."

The verb at the end of the answer mirrors the verb in the question — খাবে (second person future) becomes খাব (first person future). This verb-agreement pattern is consistent and worth recognizing as you build conversational fluency. The Bengali verb tenses post covers the full verb endings if you want the complete picture of how those forms change across persons.

Twenty Question-Answer Pairs

The best way to internalize question words is through paired examples where both the question and a likely answer are complete sentences. These twenty pairs are organized by question word.

কে (ke — who)

১. কে এসেছে? (Ke esechhe?) — Who has come?
→ মিতা এসেছে। (Mita esechhe.) — Mita has come.

২. এটা কে লিখেছে? (Eta ke likhechhe?) — Who wrote this?
→ রবীন্দ্রনাথ লিখেছেন। (Rabindranath likhechhen.) — Rabindranath wrote it.

৩. তোমার বাবা কে? (Tomar baba ke?) — Who is your father?
→ আমার বাবার নাম করিম। (Amar babar naam Karim.) — My father's name is Karim.

কী (ki — what)

৪. তুমি কী খাবে? (Tumi ki khabe?) — What will you eat?
→ আমি ভাত খাব। (Ami bhaat khabo.) — I will eat rice.

৫. এটা কী? (Eta ki?) — What is this?
→ এটা একটা বই। (Eta ekta boi.) — This is a book.

৬. তোমার নাম কী? (Tomar naam ki?) — What is your name?
→ আমার নাম রুহান। (Amar naam Ruhan.) — My name is Ruhan.

৭. এখন কী সময়? (Ekhon ki shomoy?) — What time is it now?
→ এখন তিনটা বাজে। (Ekhon tinta baje.) — It is three o'clock now.

কোথায় (kothay — where)

৮. তুমি কোথায় থাকো? (Tumi kothay thako?) — Where do you live?
→ আমি ঢাকায় থাকি। (Ami Dhakay thaki.) — I live in Dhaka.

৯. দোকানটা কোথায়? (Dookanta kothay?) — Where is the shop?
→ বাজারের পাশে। (Bajarer paashe.) — Next to the market.

১০. বাথরুম কোথায়? (Bathroom kothay?) — Where is the bathroom?
→ ওইদিকে। (Oidike.) — Over there.

কবে (kobe — when)

১১. তুমি কবে আসবে? (Tumi kobe ashbe?) — When will you come?
→ কাল আসব। (Kaal ashbo.) — I will come tomorrow.

১২. বিয়েটা কবে? (Biyeta kobe?) — When is the wedding?
→ পরের মাসে। (Porer maashe.) — Next month.

১৩. কবে থেকে শিখছ? (Kobe theke shikkhcho?) — Since when have you been learning?
→ গত বছর থেকে। (Got bochhhor theke.) — Since last year.

কেন (keno — why)

১৪. তুমি বাংলা শিখছ কেন? (Tumi bangla shikkhcho keno?) — Why are you learning Bengali?
→ কারণ আমার বন্ধু বাংলায় কথা বলে। (Karon amar bondhhu banglay kotha bole.) — Because my friend speaks in Bengali.

১৫. কেন দেরি হলো? (Keno deri holo?) — Why were you late?
→ ট্রাফিক ছিল। (Traffic chhilo.) — There was traffic.

১৬. সে কেন কাঁদছে? (She keno kandchhe?) — Why is she crying?
→ জানি না। (Jaani na.) — I don't know.

কীভাবে (kibhabe — how)

১৭. এটা কীভাবে বলে? (Eta kibhabe bole?) — How do you say this?
→ এইভাবে বলো: "ধন্যবাদ"। (Eibhabe bolo: "Dhonnobad".) — Say it like this: "Dhonnobad."

১৮. কলকাতা কীভাবে যাব? (Kolkata kibhabe jabo?) — How do I get to Kolkata?
→ ট্রেনে যেতে পারো। (Trene jetey paro.) — You can go by train.

১৯. তুমি কীভাবে আছ? (Tumi kibhabe achho?) — How are you? (more specific than kemon)
→ ভালো আছি। (Bhalo aachi.) — I am well.

কত (koto — how much/many)

২০. এটার দাম কত? (Etar daam koto?) — How much does this cost?
→ দুইশো টাকা। (Duisho taka.) — Two hundred taka.

Putting Questions Into Actual Conversations

Questions in Bengali work slightly differently in the formal (apni) versus neutral (tumi) register because the verb forms change. কোথায় যাচ্ছেন? (Kothay jacchhen?, formal "Where are you going?") uses the -en ending that marks apni address; কোথায় যাচ্ছ? (Kothay jacchho?) uses the -o ending for tumi. The question word itself doesn't change — just the verb that follows it.

This means you can learn the question words cleanly here, then adjust the verb endings once you've worked through the pronoun registers. The Bengali pronouns post covers the three-tier apni/tumi/tui system with all its verb-ending implications — it's worth reading alongside this post because question sentences put both systems to immediate practical use.

One more phrase that completes the question toolkit:

আমি বুঝতে পারছি না। (Ami bujhte parchhi na. — "I am not understanding.")
আরেকবার বলবেন? (Aarekbar bolben? — "Will you say it again?" formal)
একটু ধীরে বলুন। (Ektu dheere bolun. — "Please speak a little slowly." formal)

These three recovery phrases turn failed comprehension into a productive exchange. Asking কী? (ki?, "what?") alone can sound abrupt. The full আরেকবার বলবেন? is polite, correct, and signals to your interlocutor that you are trying — which Bengalis typically respond to with patience and warmth.

The Learn Bengali app by Brightwood Apps introduces question words in Unit 3, embedded in conversational dialogues rather than as isolated vocabulary — so you learn ke, ki, kothay in the context of the kinds of exchanges you'll actually need them for.