# کو
## Alviri-Vidari
### Adverb

کو (ko)
* (interrogative) where

#### Related terms

* کده (kode)

## Deccani
### Etymology

Derived from the Old Urdu کوں (kooN) from which the Deccani pronunciation and Standard Urdu forms descend. Ultimately from a derivative of Sanskrit कृ (kṛ, “to do”). Compare Standard Urdu کو (ko), Hindi को (ko), and Braj कौ (kau).

### Postposition

کو (kū)
* marks the dative case: to
    میرے کو ― mere kū ― to me

### References

https://udb.gov.pk/result.php?search=%DA%A9%D9%88%DA%BA

## Malay
### Pronoun

کو
* Jawi spelling of ku‎

### See also
## Persian
### Etymology 1

From Proto-Indo-European *kʷi-, *kʷo-. See there for cognates.

#### Pronunciation

* (Classical Persian) IPA: [kuː]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [kʰuː]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [kʰuː]
** (Kabuli) IPA: [kʰuː]
** (Hazaragi) IPA: [kʰu]
* (Iran, formal) IPA: [kʰuː]
* (Tajik, formal) IPA: [kʰu]
* Rhymes: -uː

#### Adverb

کو • (ku)
* (colloquial or poetic) where is...
    Synonym: کجاست (kojâ-st)
    مدادت کو؟ ― medâd-et ku? ― Where is your pencil?
    مرده کو؟ (colloquial) ― mard-e ku? ― Where is the man?
** c. 1260s, Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī, translated by Reynold A. Nicholson, مثنوی معنوی [Masnavi-ye-Ma'navi], volume III, verse 1174:بعد از آن گفتند ای مادر بیا / گور بابا کو تو ما را ره نماba'd az ân goftand ey mâdar biy-â / gur-e bâbâ ku to mâ râ rah namâAfterwards they said, "Come, O mother, where is our father's grave? Do thou show us the way."
** late 1300s, Xāja Shams-ud-Dīn Moḥammad Ḥāfeẓ-e Shīrāzī, “Ghazal 470 (Sīne mālāmāl-e dard ast)”, in دیوان حافظ [Divān of Ḥāfeẓ]:سوختم در چاه صبر از بهر آن شمع چگل شاه ترکان فارغ است از حال ما کو رستمیsuxtam dar čâh-e sabr az bahr-e ân šam'-e čegel šâh-e torkân fâreğ ast az hâl-e mâ ku rostamiI burnt in the well of patience on account of that candle of Chigil; The king of the Turks cares not for my condition, where is a Rostam?
* (archaic) where
** 1197, Hakim Nizāmi Ganjavi, “baxš 28 (nešastan-e Bahrām ruz-e došanbe dar gonbad sabz o afsāne goftan doxtar-e pādšāh-e eqlim sevom)”, in هفت پیکر [Haft Peykar]:کو شد آن دعوی دوازده فن و آن همه مردی این نه مرد و نه زنku šod ân davi davâzdah fan vânhame mardi in na mard o na zan(please add an English translation of this quotation)

### Etymology 2
#### Pronunciation

* (Classical Persian) IPA: [koː]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [kʰoː]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [kʰoː]
** (Kabuli) IPA: [kʰoː]
** (Hazaragi) IPA: [kʰʊː]
* (Iran, formal) IPA: [kʰuː]
* (Tajik, formal) IPA: [kʰɵ]

#### Noun

کو • (ku)
* Alternative form of کوی (kuy, “street; city block”).

### Etymology 3
#### Pronunciation

* (Classical Persian) IPA: [koː]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [kʰoː]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [kʰoː]
** (Kabuli) IPA: [kʰoː]
** (Hazaragi) IPA: [kʰʊː]
* (Iran, formal) IPA: [kʰuː]
* (Tajik, formal) IPA: [kʰɵ]

#### Contraction

کو • (ku)
* Contraction of که او (ke u, “that he/she...; which...”).
** c. 1260s, Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī, translated by Reynold A. Nicholson, مثنوی معنوی [Masnavi-ye-Ma'navi], volume III, verse 4:این چراغ شمس کو روشن بود / نه از فتیل و پنبه و روغن بودīn čirāğ šams k-ō rōšan būd / na az fatīl u panba u rōğan būdThis lamp, the sun, which is bright—it is not by means of wick and cotton and oil.Classical Transliteration

## Urdu
### Etymology

Inherited from Middle Hindi کوں (kvṉ /⁠kū̃⁠/)., from Old Hindi काहू (kāhū), काहु (kāhu), from Sauraseni Prakrit [Term?], from Sanskrit कक्षे (kákṣe, “in the armpit”), locative singular of कक्ष (kákṣa, “armpit”), from Proto-Indo-Aryan *káṭṣas, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *káćšas, from Proto-Indo-European *kóḱsos (“joint”). Compare Deccani کو (kū), Braj कौ (kau), Assamese -ক (-k).
The semantic development of the terms was in the armpit > at the side > towards > to. Deccani (and other Southern dialects of Hindustani) had a parallel development which also includes a locative sense.

### Pronunciation

* (Standard Urdu) IPA: /koː/

### Postposition

کو • (ko) (Hindi spelling को)
* marks the dative case: to
    میرے بھائی کو پانی دیں۔mere bhāī ko pānī dẽ.Please give some water to my elder brother.
    لاہور کو ― lāhaur ko ― to Lahore
    اوپر کو ― ūpar ko ― upwards
* in, at the time of
    میں شام کو گھر لوٹوں گا۔ma͠i śām ko ghar lauṭū̃ gā.I will return home in the evening.

#### Usage notes

کو (ko) marks the dative. It can be used as a postfix similar to -wards (e.g. اوپر کو (ūpar ko, “upwards”); آگے کو (āge ko, “afterwards”)).
It is suffixed to oblique forms of pronouns as well, e.g. the dative of میں (ma͠i, “I”) is مجھ کو (mujh ko).

### References

* ↑ “کو”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
* ↑ Reinöhl, Uta (2016) “The diverse origins of the Hindi simple postpositions”, in Grammaticalization and the Rise of Configurationality in Indo-Aryan, →ISBN
* McGregor, Ronald Stuart (1993) “को”, in The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary, London: Oxford University Press
* Platts, John T. (1884) “کو”, in A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English, London: W. H. Allen & Co.
* Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985) “ká”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press