Gujarati verbs
છે, જવું, કરવું — the verbs that carry every Gujarati sentence.
🔊 Tap any speaker button to hear Gujarati spoken. Too fast or slow? Use the speed button at the bottom-right of the page.
Being grounds all: છું/છે (am/is/are) — હું છું (I am), અમે છીએ (we are), તમે છો (you are), તેઓ છે (they are). છે anchors identity, place, state — હું અહીં છું (I'm here), હું મજામાં છું (I'm fine). Be first.
Going and coming move life: જવું (to go), આવવું (to come) — હું જાઉં છું (I go), હું આવું છું (I come). Direction verbs plus ક્યાં (where) navigate Gujarat — હું અમદાવાદ જાઉં છું (I'm going to Ahmedabad).
Doing and eating fill days: કરવું (to do), ખાવું (to eat), પીવું (to drink) — હું કામ કરું છું (I work), હું જમું છું (I eat a meal). Daily verbs, daily use; conjugate them in your sleep.
Speaking and knowing crown all: બોલવું (to speak), વાંચવું (to read), લખવું (to write) — હું ગુજરાતી બોલું છું (I speak Gujarati). Say it now, imperfectly; say it daily until the mirror agrees.
Words and phrases for this topic
| English | Gujarati | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| To be | હોવું | hovun |
| I am | હું છું | hun chhun |
| To go | જવું | javun |
| To come | આવવું | aavavun |
| To do | કરવું | karavun |
| To eat | ખાવું | khaavun |
| To drink | પીવું | peevun |
| To speak | બોલવું | bolavun |
| To read | વાંચવું | vaanchavun |
| To write | લખવું | lakhavun |
| I go | હું જાઉં છું | hun jaaun chhun |
| I come | હું આવું છું | hun aavun chhun |
| Stop / wait | ઊભા રહો | ubhaa raho |
Language, culture, and common traps
Practice: recall, then use
Use this quick recall drill for Gujarati verbs. Hide the script and romanisation columns; say the Gujarati form for each cue before revealing its row, then check spelling and sound. The phrase-table speaker buttons provide a model when a matching browser voice is available.
- To be
- To drink
- Stop / wait
Transfer practice. Choose one verb from the examples and build two short sentences around it. Change one detail at a time—who is acting, when it happens, or whether the sentence is a question—then compare the result with the page. Do not invent an ending from English; learn the pattern from attested examples. Start from હોવું (hovun) and decide whether it fits the situation before using it elsewhere.
Context check. For Gujarati verbs, “Stop / wait” belongs to a particular setting. A common mistake is to treat an English gloss as universal; read the language-specific note above and ask a fluent speaker when local usage differs.
Check your recall: answer key
- હોવું hovun — To be
- પીવું peevun — To drink
- ઊભા રહો ubhaa raho — Stop / wait
Questions learners ask
હું છું (I am), તું છે, તે છે, અમે છીએ, તમે છો, તેઓ છે. Being first, everything else after.
Present simple uses root + છું/છે: હું કરું છું (I do), તે કરે છે (he/she does). The છું family carries the whole present tense.
જવું (to go), આવવું (to come), કરવું (to do), ખાવું (to eat), બોલવું (to speak). Five verbs, half of daily speech.