Kim, Kiṃ: 13 definitions

Introduction
Languages
1. Pali
2. Marathi
3. Sanskrit
4. Prakrit
See also

Introduction:

Kim means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Buddhism, Pali, Marathi, Jainism, Prakrit. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.

Languages of India and abroad

Pali-English dictionary

Source: BuddhaSasana: Concise Pali-English Dictionary

kiṃ : (rel. or inter. pron.) what? (m.) ko = who? (f.) kā = which woman? (nt.) kaṃ = what thing?

context information

Pali is the language of the Tipiṭaka, which is the sacred canon of Theravāda Buddhism and contains much of the Buddha’s speech. Closeley related to Sanskrit, both languages are used interchangeably between religions.

Marathi-English dictionary

Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionary

kiṃ (किं).—pron S Who, which, what. It occurs frequently in the bahubrīhi form of composition. Ex. kiṅkarttṛka By whom caused, produced, done? kiṃ- prayōjanaka Of what use or need? kimartha or kinnimitta Why? for what reason?

--- OR ---

kīṃ (कीं).—conj Or. 2 That: noting indication. Ex. tē bōlalē kīṃ āmhāsa yāvayāsa banaṇāra nāhīṃ. 3 ind It often emphatically concludes an interrogation; ex. tatūṃ yētōsa kīṃ? dētōsa kīṃ? or an affirmation of the interrogative form, implying surprise at the supposition which has called it forth. Ex. mī dētōṃ kīṃ I am giving it don't you see? rē is often conjoined, as kirē. Ex. ālōṃ kirē, jātōṃ kirē, basatōṃ kirē.

Source: DDSA: The Aryabhusan school dictionary, Marathi-English

kiṃ (किं).—pro Who, which, what. As a member of a comp. kimartha, kinnimitta Why? for what use?

--- OR ---

kīṃ (कीं).—conj Or. That: nothing indication.

context information

Marathi is an Indo-European language having over 70 million native speakers people in (predominantly) Maharashtra India. Marathi, like many other Indo-Aryan languages, evolved from early forms of Prakrit, which itself is a subset of Sanskrit, one of the most ancient languages of the world.

Sanskrit dictionary

Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary

Kim (किम्).—pron. a. (nom. sing. kaḥ m., kā f., kim n.)

1) Who, what, which used interrogatively); प्रजासु कः केन पथा प्रयातीत्यशेषतो वेदितुमस्ति शक्तिः (prajāsu kaḥ kena pathā prayātītyaśeṣato veditumasti śaktiḥ) Ś.6.26; करुणाविमुखेन मृत्युना हरता त्वां वद किं न मे हृतम् (karuṇāvimukhena mṛtyunā haratā tvāṃ vada kiṃ na me hṛtam) R.8.67; का खल्वनेन प्रार्थ्यमानात्मना विकत्थते (kā khalvanena prārthyamānātmanā vikatthate) V.2; कः कोऽत्र भोः (kaḥ ko'tra bhoḥ). कः कौ के कं कौ कान् हसति च हसतो हसन्ति हरणाक्ष्यः (kaḥ kau ke kaṃ kau kān hasati ca hasato hasanti haraṇākṣyaḥ) Udb. The pronoun is often used to imply 'power or authority to do a thing'; i. e. के आवां परित्रातुं दुष्यन्तमाक्रन्द (ke āvāṃ paritrātuṃ duṣyantamākranda) Ś.1; 'who are we &c.', i. e. what power have we &c.; नृपसद्मनि नाम के वयम् (nṛpasadmani nāma ke vayam) Bhartṛhari 3.27; who are we, i. e. what position have we &c. Sometimes किम् (kim) means 'long' as applied to time especially in combination with खलु (khalu) or अपि (api) or इव (iva); का खलु वेला पत्रभवत्याः प्राप्तायाः (kā khalu velā patrabhavatyāḥ prāptāyāḥ) Ve.1; 'what a time' i. e. a long time has elapsed, &c.; so कोऽपि कालस्तस्या आगत्य गतायाः (ko'pi kālastasyā āgatya gatāyāḥ) Ratn 3; or क इव कालः (ka iva kālaḥ) Mālatīmādhava (Bombay) 3.

2) The neuter (kim) is frequently used with instr. of nouns in the sense of 'what is the use of'; किं स्वामिचेष्टानिरूपणेन (kiṃ svāmiceṣṭānirūpaṇena) H.1; लोभश्चेदगुणेन किम् (lobhaścedaguṇena kim) &c. Bhartṛhari 2.55; किं तया दृष्ट्या (kiṃ tayā dṛṣṭyā) Ś.3; किं कुलेनोपदिष्टेन शीलमेवात्र कारणम् (kiṃ kulenopadiṣṭena śīlamevātra kāraṇam) Mṛcchakaṭika 9.7. अपि, चित्, चन, चिदपि (api, cit, cana, cidapi) or स्वित् (svit) are often added to किम् (kim) to give it an indefinite sense; विवेश कश्चिज्जटिलस्तपोवनम् (viveśa kaścijjaṭilastapovanam) Kumārasambhava 5.3. a certain ascetic; दमघोषसुतेन कश्चन प्रतिशिष्टः प्रतिभानवानथ (damaghoṣasutena kaścana pratiśiṣṭaḥ pratibhānavānatha) Śiśupālavadha 16.1; कश्चित्कान्ताविरहगुरुणा स्वाधिकारात्प्रमत्तः (kaścitkāntāvirahaguruṇā svādhikārātpramattaḥ) Meghadūta 1. &c.; काऽपि तत एवागतवती (kā'pi tata evāgatavatī) Mālatīmādhava (Bombay) 1; a certain lady; कस्याऽपि कोऽपिति निवेदितं च (kasyā'pi ko'piti niveditaṃ ca) 1.33; किमपि, किमपि (kimapi, kimapi) ... जल्पतोरक्रमेण (jalpatorakrameṇa) Uttararāmacarita 1.27; कस्मिंश्चिदपि महाभागधेयजन्मनि मन्मथ- विकारमुपलक्षितवानस्मि (kasmiṃścidapi mahābhāgadheyajanmani manmatha- vikāramupalakṣitavānasmi) Mālatīmādhava (Bombay) 1; किमपि, किंचित् (kimapi, kiṃcit) 'a little', वस्तु- सिद्धिर्विचारेण न किंचित् कर्मकोटिभिः (vastu- siddhirvicāreṇa na kiṃcit karmakoṭibhiḥ) Vivekachūdamaṇi; 'somewhat' Y.2.116; Uttararāmacarita 6.35. किमपि (kimapi) also means 'indeseribable'; see अपि (api). इव (iva) is sometimes added to किम् (kim) in the sense of 'possibly', 'I should like to know'; (mostly adding force and elegance to the period); विना सीतादेव्या किमिव हि न दुःखं रघुपतेः (vinā sītādevyā kimiva hi na duḥkhaṃ raghupateḥ) Uttararāmacarita 6.3; किमिच हि मधुराणां मण्डनं नाकृतीनाम् (kimica hi madhurāṇāṃ maṇḍanaṃ nākṛtīnām) Ś.1.2; see इव (iva) also. -ind.

1) A particle of interrogation; जातिमात्रेण किं कश्चिद्धन्यते पूज्यते क्वचित् (jātimātreṇa kiṃ kaściddhanyate pūjyate kvacit) H.1.55 'is any one killed or worshipped' &c.; ततः किम् (tataḥ kim) what then.

2) A particle meaning 'why', 'wherefore'; किमकारणमेव दर्शनं बिलपन्त्यै रतये न दीयते (kimakāraṇameva darśanaṃ bilapantyai rataye na dīyate) Kumārasambhava 4.7.

3) Whether (its correlatives in the sense of 'or' being kiṃ, uta, utāho, āhosvit, vā, kiṃvā, athavā; see these words).

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Kim (किम्).—ind.

(-kim or kiṃ) 1. What, how. 2. Either, or; a particle of doubt or interrogation. 3. A particle of contempt. The relative pronoun. mfn.

(-kaḥ-kā-kiṃ) What, who, which expressing, 1. Doubt. 2. Interrogation. 3. Disdain. 4. Reproach, (as in English, Who are you, &c.) 5. Kind, sort. E. kai to sound, ḍimi Unadi aff.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Kim (किम्).—except for the nom. and acc. sing. ntr., the base of the msc. and n. and most derivatives is ka, of the fem. kā, I. interrog. pron., sbst., and adj. Who, what, which, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 8, 414; 9, 170; 8, 161.

— With gen. Who, what in proportion to, [Kumārasaṃbhava, (ed. Stenzler.)] 3, 10: ke mama dhanvino nye, What may the other archers be able to do against me?

— With instr. Away with, e. g. kiṃ vilambena, Do not tarry, [Rāmāyaṇa] 3, 35, 35. kiṃ bahunā, In short, [Pañcatantra] 5, 3. kim anena, No question, [Śākuntala, (ed. Böhtlingk.)] 91, 7.

— With instr. and gen. kiṃ te jñātair mahādhanurdharaiḥ, What have you to do with knowing the great arcers? [Draupadīpramātha] 7, 4.

— Instead of the instr. may be used also the absolutive, kiṃ te sūryam nipātya, What matters it to you to bring down the sun? Mahābhārata 13, 4628.

— Joined with the demonstr. pron. idam, e. g. ko yam, Who there? [Hitopadeśa] 18, 11.

— Doubled, e. g. kiṃkiṃ na karoti, What, what does he not? [Pañcatantra] i. [distich] 338.

— It joins two questions in one sentence, e. g. kā vām kaṃ varam icchati, Who of you chooses the one and who the other boon? [Rāmāyaṇa] 1, 39, 12. Ii. Indefin. pron. 1. Some, [Bhagavadgītā, (ed. Schlegel.)] 2, 21; generally followed by, a., ca, [Bhāgavata-Purāṇa, (ed. Burnouf.)] 3, 3, 11; preceded by the relat. pron. yad, Whoever, whatever, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 12, 95. b. ca na, Anybody, [Nala] 17, 44 (40); anything, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 8, 76; some, [Bhāgavata-Purāṇa, (ed. Burnouf.)] 5, 23, 4; doubled, kāṃścana-kāṃścana, Several, [Rāmāyaṇa] 2, 96, 34; preceded by the relat. pron. yad, Whatever, [Nala] 4, 2. c. cid, Anybody, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 8, 212; any, 8, 232; whoever, Sāh. D. 7, 12 somebody, [Nala] 14, 2. kaṃ cit kālam, Some time, [Rāmāyaṇa] 3, 21, 31. kaś cid

— kaś cid, Some one

— another, [Rāmāyaṇa] 1, 4, 18; preceded by the relat. pron. yad, a. Whatever, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 2, 7. Some trifle, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 9, 115. [distich] api, see api. 2. Any, Yajñ. 3, 133. 3. Joined with na, Nobody, [Bhartṛhari, (ed. Bohlen.)] 3, 99.

— With ca na or na

— ca na, Nothing, nobody, [Nala] 15, 16; [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 4, 134. mā kiṃ ca na, Not at all, [Bhāgavata-Purāṇa, (ed. Burnouf.)] 1, 13, 39. na hi kiṃ ca na, Never, Mahābhārata 1, 6132.

— With na

— cid, Nobody, nothing, [Nala] 3, 24; not any, [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 1, 81.

— With na

— api, Nobody, [Bhartṛhari, (ed. Bohlen.)] 3, 99; not the least, [Pañcatantra] 157, 6. Iii. kim (acc. sing. ntr.) adv. 1. Why, [Nala] 11, 3. 2. A particle of interrog., e. g. sāmyam icchasi kim, Are you really desirous of readmission to equality? [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 11, 195.

— With following u, kim u, How much more? [Mānavadharmaśāstra] 7, 55.

— With following ca, Further, [Kathāsaritsāgara, (ed. Brockhaus.)] 2, 1; [Pañcatantra] 226, 11; [Hitopadeśa] 4, 18; go on, [Śākuntala, (ed. Böhtlingk.)] 89, 17.

— With following tu, But, Mahābhārata 1, 1916.

— With following nu, 1. It lays a stress on the interrogation, [Draupadīpramātha] 5, 13. 2. How much less? [Bhagavadgītā, (ed. Schlegel.)] 1, 35.

— With following punar, How much less? Ram. 1, 22, 21.

— A following vā increases the doubt, [Śākuntala, (ed. Böhtlingk.)] 105, 7; [Pañcatantra] 44, 21.

— In disjunctive questions we find, kim

— kiṃ vā, [Śṛṅgāratilaks] 7. kim

— kiṃ vā

— kiṃ vā, [Pañcatantra] 34, 15 (tat kim... śastreṇa mārayāmi, kiṃ vā viṣam pra yacchāmi, kiṃ vā paśudharmeṇa vyāpādayāmi, Shall I kill him with a knife, or shall I give him poison, or shall I kill him like a beast?). kim

— kim

— vā

— atha, [Mṛcchakaṭikā, (ed. Stenzler.)] 171, 14. kim

— uta, [Mṛcchakaṭikā, (ed. Stenzler.)] 147, 22. kim

— uta vā, [Pañcatantra] 68, 14. kim

— uta

— uta, [Bhartṛhari, (ed. Bohlen.)] 3, 77. kim

— uta

— atha vā, [Kathāsaritsāgara, (ed. Brockhaus.)] 17, 112. kim

— uta

— āho svid, [Śākuntala, (ed. Böhtlingk.)] 106. kim

— atha vā

— uta, [Rāmāyaṇa] 5, 51, 7. kim is sometimes the former part of a compound word, e. g. kiṃrūpa, adj. How ṣaped? [Pañcatantra] 258, 13. kiṃcid is also the latter part of compound words, e. g. kiṃcijjña, adj. Knowing a little, Bhartr. 2, 8. a-kiṃcid, Nothing at all, Mahābhārata 13, 2334. Iv. kena, instr. How so? [Rāmāyaṇa] 6, 12, 4.

— Cf. kasmāt separately.

— Cf. e. g. etc.; [Latin] quis, qui, etc.; [Gothic.] hvas; [Anglo-Saxon.]

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Kim (किम्).—([neuter] sgl. of ki to 1 ka, used also °— as stem [often] = kad q.v.) what? as [adverb] whence? wherefore? why? also merely [interrogative] = num, an; in all these mgs [often] connected with aṅga, iti, iva, u, uta, nu (khalu), vā, svid, in the second clause of a double question kim alone or [with] uta, u vā, nu vā, vā, also (without kim) uta, uta vā & vāpi, atha vā or āho svid. — With cana (ca na), cid (& api*) indef. = something, a little (kimapi also in [later language] rather, much, vehemently); [with] all three & a neg. by no means, not at all. kimu how much more, however. still. kiṃ ca moreover, further ([especially] between two stanzas). kiṃ tu yet, however, nevertheless. kimuta & kiṃ nu how much more or less. kiṃ punar the same + still, yet however. kimuddiśya for what purpose (lit. aiming at what)? kim [with] [instrumental] what is gained by? what is the use of? what is it ([instrumental]) to ([genetive])?

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1) Kim (किम्):—a ind. ([from] 1. ki, originally [nominative case] and [accusative] sg. n. of 2. ka q.v.), what? how? whence? wherefore? why?

2) b is much used as a particle of interrogation like the [Latin] num, an, sometimes translatable by ‘whether?’ but oftener serving only like a note of interrogation to mark a question (e.g. kiṃ vyādhā vane smin saṃcaranti, ‘do hunters roam about in this wood?’ In an interrogation the verb, if uncompounded with a preposition, generally retains its accent after kim, [Pāṇini 8-1, 44]). To this sense may be referred the kim expressing inferiority, deficiency, etc. at the beginning of compounds (e.g. kiṃ-rājan, what sort of king? id est. a bad king, [Pāṇini 2-1, 64; v, 4, 70])

3) also the kim prefixed to verbs with a similar meaning (e.g. kim-adhīte, he reads badly, [Pāṇini 8-1, 44],[Kāśikā-vṛtti]) kim—uta, or kim—uta-vā or kim—athavā—uta, whether—or—or, [Rāmāyaṇa; Śakuntalā; Bhartṛhari] etc. (cf. uta.)

4) c is very frequently connected with other particles, as follows: kim aṅga, wherefore then? [Ṛg-veda]

5) atha kim See atha

6) kim api, somewhat, to a considerable extent, rather, much more, still further, [Śakuntalā; Meghadūta] etc.

7) kim iti, why? [Śakuntalā; Kumāra-sambhava; Pañcatantra] etc.

8) [kim-iva], what for? [Śiśupāla-vadha xvi, 31]

9) [kim-u] or kim-uta how much more? how much less? [Ṛg-veda; Śatapatha-brāhmaṇa; Mahābhārata] etc.

10) kiṃ kila, what a pity! (expressing dissatisfaction), [Pāṇini 3-3, 146]

11) [kiṃ-ca], moreover, further, [Pañcatantra; Kathāsaritsāgara] etc.

12) what more (expressing impatience), [Śakuntalā]

13) [kiṃ-cana] (originally -ca na, negative = ‘in no way’), to a certain degree, a little, [Kathāsaritsāgara]

14) (with a negation) in no way, not at all, [Mahābhārata i, 6132]

15) [kiṃ-cid], somewhat, a little, [Mahābhārata; Rāmāyaṇa] etc.

16) kiṃ tarhi, how then? but, however, [Pāṇini 2-2, 4; Patañjali; 4-1, 163], [Kāśikā-vṛtti]

17) [kiṃ-tu], but, however, nevertheless (bearing the same relation to tu that kiṃ-ca bears to ca), [Mahābhārata; Rāmāyaṇa] etc.

18) [kiṃ-nu], whether indeed? (a stronger interrogative than kim alone), [Mahābhārata; Rāmāyaṇa] etc.

19) how much more? how much less? [Bhagavad-gītā i, 35]

20) kiṃ nu khalu, how possibly? (a still stronger interrogative), [Śakuntalā]

21) kim punar, how much more? how much less? [Rāmāyaṇa; Bhagavad-gītā ix, 33 etc.]

22) however, [Bālarāmāyaṇa]

23) but, [ib.]

24) kiṃ vā, whether? or whether? [Śakuntalā; Pañcatantra] etc.

25) or (often a mere particle of interrogation)

26) kiṃ svid, why? [Kathāsaritsāgara xxvi, 75]

27) a stronger interrogative than kim alone, [Ṛg-veda; Mahābhārata; Kathāsaritsāgara]

28) Kiṃ (किं):—[from kim] 1 (in [compound] for kim).

29) [from kim] 2 (in [compound] for kim).

30) Kim (किम्):—d (in [compound])

31) Kīm (कीम्):—ind. See ā-kīm, mā-kīm.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary

1) Kiṃ (किं):—adv. What? how?

2) Kim (किम्):—adv. What? how?

Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary (S)

Kim (किम्) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit words: Kavaṇa, Kiṃ.

[Sanskrit to German]

Kim in German

context information

Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.

Prakrit-English dictionary

Source: DDSA: Paia-sadda-mahannavo; a comprehensive Prakrit Hindi dictionary

Kiṃ (किं) in the Prakrit language is related to the Sanskrit word: Kim.

context information

Prakrit is an ancient language closely associated with both Pali and Sanskrit. Jain literature is often composed in this language or sub-dialects, such as the Agamas and their commentaries which are written in Ardhamagadhi and Maharashtri Prakrit. The earliest extant texts can be dated to as early as the 4th century BCE although core portions might be older.

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