In Hindi the conjunction कहीं 'lest' may be used to introduce a clause dependent on a verb or predicate expressing fear or anxiety. Typically such clauses have three additional features: 1. the subjunctive, 2. a compound verb, and 3. a negative element (often न):

1.   उसे लगने लगा कि कहीं यह गहन पूरा का पूरा उसके विवाहित जीवन को निगल न जाए ।
    'She began to fear that this dark star might swallow up her entire married life.'  (Sharma 1987:10)

2.   सुहाना सफ़र और यह मौसम सहीं
       हमें डर है हम खो न जाएँ कहीं !
    'A pleasant journey and such beautiful weather.
     We are afraid we might lose our way!'

     (from the song by शैलेन्द्र, film मधुमती )

       Notice that the negative particle न in (1) and (2) has no counterpart in the English translation. This is true of the negatives in almost all Hindi-Urdu fear clauses. A comparison might be made with the non-functional 'not' in: 'I wonder if that might not be him.' where deleting the 'not' seems to make no difference to the meaning of the sentence: 'I wonder if that might be him.' Unlike this English 'not', however, the negative in Hindi-Urdu fear clauses is usually not deletable.
      Since the subordinate clauses in these constructions usually express a feared action or event, the verbs in them are often accompanied by an attitudinal vector such as बैठ- or डाल-:

3. मुझे डर लगता है कि कहीं बना-बनाया काम बिगड़ न बैठूँ ।
    'I am afraid that I might spoil a nearly done deal.'

4. उसके प्राण सूखे जाते थे कि कहीं सिल्लो सब कुछ कह न डाले ।
    'He was terrified that Sillo might divulge everything.'     (from Premchand's गोदान. See context.)

It is not unusual to find कि together with कहीं. If कि is present it precedes कहीं:

5. इस डर से कि कहीं सचमुच चोरी न हो जाए, वह कुछ दिनों तक परेशान रहा ।
    'He was upset for several days from the fear that there might really be a break-in.'  (Singh 1973:132)

6. डर था कि कहीं किसी बादशाही मुलाज़िम का निगाह न पड़ जाय, जो बेकार में पकड़ जायें ।
    'They were afraid that some employee of the king might catch sight of them,
     and because of that they would be caught needlessly.'

    (from Premchand's शतरंज के खिलाड़ी.)

However, the presence of कहीं itself is optional if the other features are present:

7. भय था तो यही कि फिर बेटी न हो जाय . . .
    'They were afraid that once again it would be a girl...'

    (from Premchand's दूध का दाम. See context.)

    Other features may be individually absent. For instance, if the verb in the fear-clause is a stative it will not be compound:

8. यह डर भी था कि नीलिमा ने मेरी टिप्पणी का बुरा न माना हो ।
    'I was also afraid that Nilima might have resented my review.'   (Rakesh 1967:224)

The subjunctive may be absent:

9. भ्रम हो उठा कि कहीं उसका दिमाग़ ख़राब तो नहीं हो रहा ।
    'He suddenly had the illusion that he might be losing his mind.'   (Singh 1973:138)

Sometimes the introductory clause together with कहीं are absent. In such cases it is the presence of the compound verb in the subjunctive and a "non-functioning" negative particle that implicitly express the fear or anxiety:

10. जा तू मुन्ना को देख । खाट पर से गिर न जाय ।
    'Go and check on the baby. (I'm afraid that) he might fall off the bed.'

    (from Yashpal's story गवाही, page 1.)

On the other hand, 'May he not fall off the bed!' is equally plausible as an interpretation of the second clause, even if it is no longer idiomatic English.

Exercise on कहीं and the expression of fear.
Related notes on इससे पहले कि ... and the expression of anteriority and posteriority.
Notes on compound verbs in बैठ- and the expression of misguided action.
To index of मल्हार.

Posted on 5 Aug 1999.
Updated: 9 Aug 1999, 3 Sept 1999, 5 Sept 1999.
Augmented: 21 Mar 2001, 30 Nov 2001.
Mangalized: 29 Oct 2015.