EkGuru › Materials › Verbs › 25 Essential Hindi Verbs — With Their Present Forms
A handful of verbs carries an enormous amount of everyday Hindi. Learn these 25 in the present tense and you can talk about your day, your plans, and what you are doing right now.
| Verb | Meaning | 'I …' (male / female) |
|---|---|---|
| होना honā | to be | मैं हूँ (main hū̃) |
| करना karnā | to do | करता हूँ / करती हूँ |
| जाना jānā | to go | जाता हूँ / जाती हूँ |
| आना ānā | to come | आता हूँ / आती हूँ |
| खाना khānā | to eat | खाता हूँ / खाती हूँ |
| पीना pīnā | to drink | पीता हूँ / पीती हूँ |
| देखना dekhnā | to see | देखता हूँ / देखती हूँ |
| सुनना sunnā | to hear/listen | सुनता हूँ / सुनती हूँ |
| बोलना bolnā | to speak | बोलता हूँ / बोलती हूँ |
| कहना kahnā | to say | कहता हूँ / कहती हूँ |
| पढ़ना paṛhnā | to read | पढ़ता हूँ / पढ़ती हूँ |
| लिखना likhnā | to write | लिखता हूँ / लिखती हूँ |
| सोना sonā | to sleep | सोता हूँ / सोती हूँ |
| मिलना milnā | to meet | मिलता हूँ / मिलती हूँ |
| देना denā | to give | देता हूँ / देती हूँ |
| लेना lenā | to take | लेता हूँ / लेती हूँ |
| चाहना chāhnā | to want | चाहता हूँ / चाहती हूँ |
| पूछना pūchnā | to ask | पूछता हूँ / पूछती हूँ |
| समझना samajhnā | to understand | समझता हूँ / समझती हूँ |
| सीखना sīkhnā | to learn | सीखता हूँ / सीखती हूँ |
| पसंद करना pasand karnā | to like | मुझे पसंद है (to me pleasing) |
| रहना rahnā | to stay/live | रहता हूँ / रहती हूँ |
| काम करना kām karnā | to work | काम करता हूँ / करती हूँ |
| खरीदना kharīdnā | to buy | खरीदता हूँ / खरीदती हूँ |
| बैठना baiṭhnā | to sit | बैठता हूँ / बैठती हूँ |
Almost every present-tense 'I' form is the verb stem plus -tā hū̃ for a male speaker and -tī hū̃ for a female speaker. खाना → खा + ता/ती + हूँ. Learn the pattern once and the whole table folds into it.
honā (to be) is irregular: मैं हूँ, वह है, वे हैं, तुम हो. And pasand (like) is not a verb at all but an adjective used with मुझे: मुझे हिन्दी पसंद है. These two deserve to be learned as their own small facts.
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Using one ending for both genders | -tā for male, -tī for female speakers | The verb ending tracks the speaker's gender, not the listener's. |
| Treating 'pasand' as a normal verb | Use मुझे … पसंद है | Liking is an adjective frame, not a conjugated verb. |
| Forgetting that milnā means 'to be found' too | मुझे मिला (I got/found it) | milnā works both ways — meeting and receiving. |
मैं पानी पीती हूँ — -tī hū̃ for a female speaker.
It is used as an adjective frame — मुझे … पसंद है — not conjugated like a normal verb.
मैं जाता हूँ (main jātā hū̃).
A chart helps only once you use it. Drill these same points in the practice labs, follow a learning path to keep the order right, or practise one to one with a native-speaking tutor.