Word Meaning
कहीं
kahin
hiadverb
Meaning
Somewhere, ever, or (rhetorically) by any chance or at all.
Detailed Meaning
Commonly denoting an indefinite place ('somewhere'), 'kahin' frequently functions in Urdu poetry as an interrogative or rhetorical particle meaning 'ever' or 'at all'. In this couplet, it expresses disbelief and impossibility, emphasizing that those wholly lost in transcendent love can never resurface. It conveys the rhetorical question implying a decisive negative.
Etymology
Sanskrit कहिं (kahiṁ) / कुत्रचित् via Prakrit कहिं (kahiṁ).
Usage
In classical ghazal, it is widely utilized in rhetorical questions (istifham-e-inkari) to strongly deny or doubt the likelihood of an occurrence.
Examples
Do those who have departed ever return?
He must be wandering somewhere in grief.
Synonyms
कदापिकभीकिसी जगह
Related Words
कहाँकभीकहीं-कहीं