Headword
Language Hindi · ninth language of owe · no single lexical verb · क़र्ज़ रखना qarz rakhnā · amount का kā · debt noun subject of होना honā · debtor पर par · creditor का / की / के agreeing with the noun · obligation देना है denā hai · debtor को ko and creditor को · ऋणी r̥ṇī and एहसान ehsān a separate sense
Debtor, debt, Creditor · Hindi marking · working claim, revisable
Hindi has no single lexical verb equal to English owe. The participants sit on a debt noun and a light verb or a copula. R. S. McGregor, The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary (p. 174), क़र्ज़ qarz, masculine: 1 a debt. 2 a loan. The collocations are उठाना (of, का), उतारना or अदा करना or चुकाना ‘to pay a debt’, काढ़ना or लेना ‘to take a loan (from, से)’, खाना ‘to live on money borrowed (from, का)’, and देना ‘to lend (to, को)’. None of those glosses is the English verb owe. क़र्ज़दार is ‘indebted, owing; a debtor’. ऋण r̥ṇ (p. 139) is masculine, ‘a debt; credit; debit; an obligation’, and the collocations are sent to क़र्ज़. ऋण-दाता is ‘a creditor’. John T. Platts, A Dictionary of Urdu, Classical Hindi, and English (p. 790), is the entry that prints the English verb: qarẓ rakhnā (-kā) ‘To have a debt (of), to owe.’ The debtor is the subject of रखना. -का is the amount, the same parenthesis as qarẓ uṭhānā (-kā) ‘to contract or incur a debt’ and as qarẓ lenā ‘with gen. -kā of amount’. Platts prints no finite clause, no creditor, and no पर.
उधार udhār. McGregor (p. 125), masculine: 1 a loan. 2 a debt; credit. उधार होना is ‘to be on loan; to have been borrowed, to be owing (by)’. The English by names the debtor. The entry prints no postposition on that debtor. उधार देना (को) is ‘to lend; to sell on credit; to discharge a debt’. उधार लेना is ‘to borrow; to buy on credit’. Hardev Bahri, Learners’ Hindi-English Dictionary (p. 67), उधार masculine: credit, loan. उधार का रूपया is loan-money. का agrees with masculine रूपया. उधार की पुस्तके is loaned books. की agrees with the feminine plural. मैंने रूपया उधार दिया था, तुमने लिया था is ‘I had lent money, you had borrowed it.’ Those का and की are on things. They are not a creditor.
Possessor and location, working claim. The debt noun is the subject of होना. The debt is on the debtor. McGregor’s पर sense 1 (p. 601) is ‘on, upon; over’. The creditor is the possessor, का / की / के, and that postposition agrees with the debt noun. McGregor’s का (p. 186) sense 1 is ‘of; belonging to’. उस का एक घर था has का with masculine singular घर. उसकी सिर्फ़ एक ही आँख है has की with feminine आँख. गाँव के लोग has के with masculine plural लोग. हिंदी की एक किताब has की with feminine किताब. क़र्ज़, उधार, and ऋण are masculine, so the cell on those nouns is का. Sense 5, उसके एक बहन है, is the oblique connective. It is a different use of के. मुझ पर तुम्हारा क़र्ज़ है stacks the debtor in पर, the creditor in masculine तुम्हारा, and singular है with क़र्ज़. It is constructed. A stack that puts the debtor in का and the creditor in पर is not in these entries. It is not filed. The पर of उधार खाए बैठना, ‘to wait intently (for, पर)’, is that idiom. It is not this debtor.
Obligation. The debtor is a dative subject, and the creditor is the recipient of देना. Both are को. Rajesh Bhatt, Tina Bögel, Miriam Butt, Annette Hautli, and Sebastian Sulger, “Urdu/Hindi Modals” (LFG11, CSLI, 2011), example (2c): a dative subject, an infinitive, and होना, glossed ‘Yasin has/wants to do this’. The reading is ambiguous between an obligation and a desire. Example (11a) is the same dative. Example (11b) puts the subject in ergative ने and glosses the desire, ‘Yasin wants to do this’. The obligation’s debtor is the dative, not that ergative. McGregor’s देना sense 3 is ‘to make (a payment)’, beside ‘to give’. The recipient is को sense 2 (p. 215): उसको किताब दिजिए, ‘please give him a book’. The sum is the unmarked complement. McGregor’s पर sense 4 prints इस पर फ़ीस देनी है, ‘there are the fees to pay as well’. देनी is feminine, with feminine फ़ीस. That पर is ‘as well’. It is not a person. Bhatt et al. (2c) print a masculine singular infinitive with a singular nominative. Their feminine plural infinitive, example (3), is with चाहिए, not with होना. मुझे तुम्हें सौ रुपये देने हैं puts the debtor in मुझे, the creditor in तुम्हें, and masculine plural देने हैं with रुपये, the plural of Bahri’s masculine रूपया. The plural is the number extension of देनी है and of the singular infinitive in (2c). The clause is constructed. The two को phrases are the persons. The infinitive matches the unmarked noun: देनी matches फ़ीस, and the infinitive in (2c) matches the singular nominative. Yamuna Kachru, Hindi (John Benjamins, 2006), describes agreement on the perfective transitive: a को-marked object does not control it. No page number is cited. That perfective is the bill page. It is not this infinitive.
से is the source, or the debt noun, and it is not the creditor of the state. McGregor’s क़र्ज़ लेना is ‘from, से’. Platts: qarẓ lenā takes the person in -se. McGregor’s एहसान लेना is ‘from, से’. Bahri (p. 76) वह ऋण से दबा है is ‘he is heavily in debt’. से is on ऋण. The lending को is the other direction. McGregor क़र्ज़ देना is ‘to lend (to, को)’. The subject is the lender. Bahri ऋण देना is ‘to lend money’. That को is the borrower. It is not the creditor of देना है.
Indebtedness is a separate sense, and it has no sum. McGregor ऋणी (p. 139): 1 indebted (to, का). 2 under obligation (to). Sense 2 does not repeat का. 3 masculine, a debtor. Bahri (p. 76): मैं आपका ऋणी रहूँगा, ‘I shall be indebted/obliged to you.’ The debtor is unmarked मैं. The creditor is आपका. का agrees with masculine ऋणी. रहूँगा is masculine first-person singular future. It agrees with the debtor. The copula of that line is रहना, not होना. मैं आपका ऋणी हूँ is constructed. Feminine रहूँगी is unprinted. एहसान (p. 143) is ‘favour; sense of obligation, gratitude’. एहसान करना and रखना are ‘to, पर’. एहसान का बोझ (किसी पर) loads the obligation on a person. एहसान मानना is ‘from, का’. एहसान लेना is ‘from, से’. Platts (p. 29) prints the same set: rakhnā (-par), karnā (-par), lenā (se), mānnā (-kā). पर on एहसान is the person the favour is done to, the one placed under the obligation. English I owed the surgeon my life and I owe my success to my teachers stay on owe.
Where this frame diverges from English X owes Y Z. English owe is one verb. The debtor is the subject. The creditor is a bare object, owes me $5, I owe Janet $50, or to after the sum, She still owes £3 000 to her father. The sum is one object. The same verb prints I owed the surgeon my life and I owe my success to my teachers. Hindi splits the work. Platts’s to owe is क़र्ज़ रखना: the debtor is the subject of रखना, का is the amount, and the creditor is unprinted. The possessor-locative makes the debt the subject of होना, puts that debt on the debtor with पर, and puts the creditor in agreeing का. English does not make the debt the subject, and it does not put the debtor in on. The English on of on our car is a different phrase, on the English page. देना है gives both persons को. English separates them by the subject and by a bare object or to. The postposition does not. ऋणी and एहसान take the gratitude line off the sum. Paying the debt is चुकाना. This page does not open that frame.
Read the noun, then the postposition. का / की / के agrees with the possessed noun. पर on the debtor is ‘on, upon’. को is the dative subject and, on देना, the recipient. से is the source one borrows from, or the debt noun in ऋण से दबा है. The present copula है / हैं matches the subject in person and number. Gender is on का, on ऋणी, and on the infinitive.
क़र्ज़ · उधार · the noun and the light verb
✓ qarẓ rakhnā (-kā), to have a debt (of), to owe Platts · p. 790 · subject of रखना · का the amount · no creditor · no finite clause
✓ उधार होना, to be on loan; to have been borrowed, to be owing (by) McGregor · p. 125 · no postposition on the debtor
✓ क़र्ज़ देना, to lend (to, को) · क़र्ज़ लेना, from से · उधार का रूपया · उधार की पुस्तके McGregor · p. 174 · Bahri · p. 67 · का with masculine रूपया · की with the books
✓ मुझ पर तुम्हारा क़र्ज़ है। constructed · debtor पर · creditor का · है with masculine क़र्ज़
to owe an amount · to be owing by someone · to lend to someone · to borrow from someone · loan-money · loaned books · your debt is on me
देना है · ऋणी · एहसान
✓ dative + infinitive + होना, ‘has/wants to’ · ergative + infinitive + होना, ‘wants to’ Bhatt et al. · 2011 · (2c) · (11a) · (11b)
✓ इस पर फ़ीस देनी है। McGregor · पर 4 · feminine देनी with फ़ीस · पर is not a person
✓ मैं आपका ऋणी रहूँगा। Bahri · p. 76 · debtor unmarked · creditor आपका · masculine रहूँगा
✓ एहसान करना (to, पर) · मानना (from, का) · लेना (from, से) McGregor · p. 143 · Platts · p. 29 · no sum
✓ मुझे तुम्हें सौ रुपये देने हैं। constructed · both persons को · plural infinitive
there are the fees to pay as well · I shall be indebted to you · to do a favour to someone · I have to give you a hundred rupees
| Place | Introduced by (working) | Hindi marking | Status in the sources | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debtor · रखना | subject of क़र्ज़ रखना | unmarked in the gloss · no finite clause | Platts ‘to have a debt (of), to owe’ · -का is the amount · no creditor | subject of owe |
| Debtor · पर | the one the debt is on | पर · ‘on, upon’ | McGregor पर 1 · उधार होना ‘owing (by)’ prints no postposition · मुझ पर तुम्हारा क़र्ज़ है is constructed | subject · on our car is not this person |
| Debtor · को | dative subject of infinitive + होना | को | Bhatt et al. (2c), (11a) · (11b) ergative is the desire · मुझे in the constructed clause | subject of owe |
| Debt | the noun, or the unmarked sum | masculine क़र्ज़, उधार, ऋण · or the complement of देना | उधार का रूपया · फ़ीस देनी है · सौ रुपये देने हैं is constructed | one object |
| Creditor · का | possessor of the debt, or of ऋणी | का / की / के agrees with the noun | masculine nouns take का · Bahri आपका ऋणी · Platts -का on रखना is the amount, not this possessor | bare object, or to |
| Creditor · को | recipient of देना | को 2 | उसको किताब दिजिए · the same postposition as the dative subject · तुम्हें is constructed | bare object, or to |
| से | source, or the debt noun | से | क़र्ज़ लेना from से · एहसान लेना from से · वह ऋण से दबा है | not the creditor of owe |
| ऋणी · एहसान | indebtedness, no sum | debtor unmarked · creditor का · favour पर / का / से | मैं आपका ऋणी रहूँगा · McGregor indebted (to, का) · no sum | I owed the surgeon my life stays on owe |
Marking map. One postposition has more than one reading. The reading follows the verb.
Each row lines up one Hindi slot with the mark English owe prints. The alignment is shift where English uses a subject, a bare creditor, or to, and Hindi uses पर, agreeing का, or को on both persons. Printed lines come first. A constructed line reuses a printed marking. It is labelled constructed. ऋणी is a separate sense.
| Slot | HI form | EN form | Align | HI example | EN example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debtor · रखना | subject of रखना · amount का | subject of the verb | shift · the creditor is unprinted | qarẓ rakhnā (-kā) Platts | I owe Janet $50 Cambridge |
| Debtor · पर | पर · the debt is the subject | subject | shift · the debt is on the debtor | मुझ पर constructed | I owe Janet $50 Cambridge |
| Creditor · का | का agrees with the noun | bare object, or to | shift · possessor | आपका Bahri | owes me $5 Merriam-Webster |
| Both persons · को | dative subject and recipient को | subject vs bare object or to | shift · one postposition | मुझे तुम्हें constructed | owes £3 000 to her father Oxford |
| Debt | masculine noun, or unmarked sum | one object | = of one amount · the infinitive matches it | फ़ीस देनी है McGregor | you owe me ten dollars Cambridge Academic |
| ऋणी | unmarked debtor · का · no sum | the same verb owe | a separate sense | मैं आपका ऋणी रहूँगा Bahri | I owed the surgeon my life Oxford |
The strip below is a set of small multiples. Each card holds one frame. The English cards are the two creditor clothes and the life line. The Hindi cards keep रखना, the possessor-locative, देना है, and ऋणी apart.
HI · रखना · का
क़र्ज़ रखना
Platts · p. 790 · to have a debt (of), to owe · -kā the amount · no creditor
Move English prints the creditor as a bare object or in to. This gloss prints the amount in का and leaves the creditor empty.
HI · पर · constructed
मुझ पर तुम्हारा क़र्ज़ है।
constructed · पर 1 on, upon · का agrees with masculine क़र्ज़ · udhār honā prints no postposition
Move English makes the debtor the subject. This clause makes the debt the subject and puts the debtor in पर.
HI · को · को · constructed
मुझे तुम्हें सौ रुपये देने हैं।
constructed · Bhatt et al. (2c) dative + infinitive + होना · को 2 the recipient · देने हैं extends देनी है
Move Both persons take को. English separates the subject from a bare object or from to.
HI · agreement · देनी
इस पर फ़ीस देनी है।
McGregor · पर 4 · feminine देनी with फ़ीस · पर is not a debtor
Split The infinitive agrees with the unmarked noun. This पर is not the debtor of मुझ पर.
HI · ऋणी
मैं आपका ऋणी रहूँगा।
Bahri · p. 76 · indebted to you · का with masculine ऋणी · रहूँगा with मैं · no sum
Split English keeps my life on owe. This line is ऋणी, and it prints no sum.
HI · एहसान · पर
एहसान करना
McGregor · p. 143 · to, पर · मानना from का · लेना from से · Platts p. 29
Split पर is the person the favour sits on. का and से are the source. There is no sum.
HI · lend · को
क़र्ज़ देना
McGregor · to lend (to, को) · Bahri ऋण देना to lend money · the subject is the lender
Split The obligation’s second को is the person who is to receive. This को is the person who receives a loan.
EN · two objects
owes me $5
English owe · Merriam-Webster · person then sum
Move Hindi does not print this person as a bare object. The person is पर, का, or को.
EN · to · life
I owed the surgeon my life.
English owe · Oxford · the Hindi twin is ऋणी / एहसान
Split English has one verb for the sum and for this life line. Hindi puts the sum on क़र्ज़ and the indebtedness on ऋणी.
क़र्ज़ रखना is the gloss that says to owe. Platts, p. 790. The debtor is the subject. का is the amount. McGregor’s क़र्ज़ entry does not use that English verb. His उठाना is ‘to take on a debt (of, का)’. A creditor beside रखना is unprinted.
उधार होना names the debtor only in the English gloss. ‘To be owing (by).’ No Hindi postposition is printed on that by. The working clause puts the debtor in पर and the creditor in agreeing का. Bahri’s का and की on उधार modify रूपया and पुस्तके.
देना है is the obligation. Bhatt et al. (2c) and (11a): dative subject, infinitive, होना, ambiguous between obligation and desire. (11b): ergative ने with the infinitive is the desire. The sum is unmarked, and the infinitive matches it, as देनी matches फ़ीस. The recipient is को sense 2. The two को phrases are not distinguished by the postposition.
Lending reverses the को. क़र्ज़ देना and Bahri’s ऋण देना and उधार देना make the subject the lender. को is the borrower. उधार देना also glosses ‘to sell on credit’ and ‘to discharge a debt’. Those three readings share the entry. They are not the state owe.
payBILL · चुकाना discharges the debt. McGregor’s क़र्ज़ चुकाना is ‘to pay a debt’, beside उतारना and अदा करना. The bill page has the perfective payer in ने. This page does not treat मुझ पर तुम्हारा क़र्ज़ है as that payment. There is no Hindi payGIVE page. देना sense 3, ‘to make (a payment)’, is the pointer.
ऋणी and एहसान have no sum. Bahri’s finite line is मैं आपका ऋणी रहूँगा. McGregor sense 1 is indebted (to, का). एहसान splits the person: पर for the one the favour is done to, का for the source one feels it from, से for the source one accepts it from. English I owe my success to my teachers stays on one verb.
Which object the clause treats as the object is the note Causative templates and argument selection. This page does not edit that note. On होना the subject is the debt noun. On देना है the infinitive’s unmarked complement is the sum, and both persons are को. On ऋणी the creditor is inside का.
Argument difference. English X owes Y Z puts X in the subject, Y in a bare object or in to, and Z in one object, and it uses that verb for I owed the surgeon my life. Hindi has no single lexical verb. क़र्ज़ रखना puts the amount in का. The possessor-locative puts the debt on the debtor with पर and the creditor in agreeing का. देना है puts both persons in को. ऋणी is the indebtedness line, with no sum.
Printed dictionary lines come first. A constructed line reuses a printed marking. It is labelled constructed.
Real · McGregor · Platts · Bahri · Bhatt et al.
✓ qarẓ rakhnā (-kā), to owe · उधार होना, to be owing (by) Platts · McGregor · no finite debtor
✓ उधार का रूपया · उधार की पुस्तके · मैंने रूपया उधार दिया था, तुमने लिया था Bahri · का · की · lend
✓ इस पर फ़ीस देनी है। · dative + infinitive + होना McGregor · Bhatt et al. (2c)
✓ मैं आपका ऋणी रहूँगा। · एहसान करना (to, पर) Bahri · McGregor · no sum
✓ वह ऋण से दबा है। · क़र्ज़ लेना (from, से) Bahri · McGregor · से is not the creditor of the state
Constructed · the working frames
✓ मुझ पर तुम्हारा क़र्ज़ है। constructed
mujh par tumhārā qarz hai. · 1SG.OBL on your.M.SG debt.M.SG be.3SG · your debt is on me · debtor पर · creditor का · उधार होना prints no postposition
✓ मुझे तुम्हें सौ रुपये देने हैं। constructed
mujhe tumheṁ sau rupaye dene haĩ. · 1SG.DAT 2SG.DAT hundred rupee.M.PL give.INF.M.PL be.3PL · I have to give you a hundred rupees · both को · plural extends देनी है
✓ मैं आपका ऋणी हूँ। constructed
maĩ āpkā r̥ṇī hūṁ. · Bahri prints रहूँगा · हूँ is the copula · the same आपका
तुम पर मेरा क़र्ज़ है with the creditor in पर and the debtor in का. unprinted · not a filed frame
the debt is on the debtor · the possessor is the creditor · the reverse stack is not in the entries
मैं ऋणी रहूँगी। unprinted · not a filed frame
Bahri’s verb is masculine रहूँगा · a feminine debtor is unprinted
Each sketch is a working drawing. The possessor-locative gives the debt noun to the subject of होना, the debtor to पर, and the creditor to agreeing का. The obligation gives both persons to को and the sum to the infinitive. ऋणी gives the creditor to का and prints no sum. Open one sketch at a time. Which theta role is the object is the revisable note Causative templates and argument selection. This page does not edit that note.
Debt on the debtor · working, revisable
[ —
[ √होना
[ क़र्ज़ ]
[ मुझ पर ]
[ तुम्हारा ] ] ] ← debt noun is the subject
← है with singular क़र्ज़
← debtor पर
← creditor का, agrees with क़र्ज़
← की / के are the other cells
← udhār honā prints no postposition
मुझ पर तुम्हारा क़र्ज़ है is constructed. उधार होना is the printed collocation, with the debtor only in the English by. The tree does not put the creditor in पर.
✓ उधार होना McGregor · owing (by)
✓ मुझ पर तुम्हारा क़र्ज़ है। constructed
Bhatt et al. (2c) · McGregor देनी · working, revisable
[ —
[ √होना
[ देना
[ रुपये ]
[ तुम्हें ] ]
[ मुझे ] ] ] ← debtor को, dative subject
← creditor को, recipient
← sum unmarked
← देने हैं matches रुपये
← ने + infinitive is the desire
← lend को is the borrower
मुझे तुम्हें सौ रुपये देने हैं is constructed. इस पर फ़ीस देनी है is the printed agreement, and that पर is not a person. Bhatt et al. (11b) keeps ergative ने on the desire.
✓ इस पर फ़ीस देनी है। McGregor
✓ मुझे तुम्हें सौ रुपये देने हैं। constructed
Platts · the gloss to owe · working, revisable
[ —
[ √रखना
[ क़र्ज़ का ] ] ] ← debtor is the subject
← का is the amount
← no creditor
← no finite clause
← same -kā on उठाना
qarẓ rakhnā (-kā) is the line that says to owe. The creditor slot stays empty. का here is not Bahri’s आपका.
✓ qarẓ rakhnā (-kā) Platts · p. 790
Bahri’s रहूँगा · working, revisable
[ —
[ √रहना
[ ऋणी ]
[ आपका ] ] ] ← debtor मैं, unmarked
← रहूँगा agrees with मैं
← creditor का, agrees with ऋणी
← no sum
← हूँ is constructed
← एहसान पर / का / से is the favour
मैं आपका ऋणी रहूँगा is the printed indebtedness. मैं आपका ऋणी हूँ is constructed. The hundred rupees stay on the देना tree.
✓ मैं आपका ऋणी रहूँगा। Bahri
✓ मैं आपका ऋणी हूँ। constructed
Working paper · October 2026 · Hindi micro-entry
क़र्ज़ रखना puts the amount in का. The debt can sit on the debtor in पर, with the creditor in agreeing का. देना है puts both persons in को. ऋणी is the indebtedness line, and it has no sum.
Hindi frames: R. S. McGregor, The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary (Oxford University Press, 1993), read on the Digital Dictionaries of South Asia, for क़र्ज़ (p. 174), उधार (p. 125), ऋण and ऋणी (p. 139), एहसान (p. 143), पर (p. 601), का (p. 186), and को sense 2 (p. 215). John T. Platts, A Dictionary of Urdu, Classical Hindi, and English (London: W. H. Allen, 1884), DSAL, for qarẓ (p. 790) and ěḥsān (p. 29). Hardev Bahri, Learners’ Hindi-English Dictionary (Delhi: Rajpal, 1989), DSAL, for उधार (p. 67), ऋण and ऋणी (p. 76), and क़र्ज़ (p. 94). Case and the dative-plus-infinitive: Bhatt, Bögel, Butt, Hautli, and Sulger, “Urdu/Hindi Modals,” Proceedings of the LFG11 Conference (CSLI, 2011), examples (2c), (3), (11a), and (11b). Yamuna Kachru, Hindi (London Oriental and African Language Library; Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2006). No page number is cited for Kachru. Michael C. Shapiro, A Primer of Modern Standard Hindi, was not opened. English clothes are the lines already on owe · English. Constructed clauses reuse a printed marking. मुझ पर तुम्हारा क़र्ज़ है, मुझे तुम्हें सौ रुपये देने हैं, and मैं आपका ऋणी हूँ are not single citations.
Records Hindi with no single lexical verb equal to owe. Records Platts qarẓ rakhnā (-kā) as the gloss ‘to owe’, the amount in का, and the creditor unprinted. Records the working possessor-locative: the debt on the debtor in पर, the creditor in का / की / के agreeing with the noun. Records देना है with को on the debtor and को on the creditor. Records ऋणी and एहसान as the indebtedness sense, with no sum. Records मुझ पर तुम्हारा क़र्ज़ है, मुझे तुम्हें सौ रुपये देने हैं, and मैं आपका ऋणी हूँ as constructed.