खर्च करना

You use खर्च करना when you want to say you've spent something. It’s a verb phrase, so खर्च is the noun (expense) and करना is the verb (to do). Together, they mean 'to spend'. You can spend money (पैसे खर्च करना), time (समय खर्च करना), or even energy (ऊर्जा खर्च करना). The object you are spending usually comes before the phrase. For example, मैंने बहुत पैसे खर्च किए (Maine bahut paise kharch kiye) means 'I spent a lot of money'. It’s pretty straightforward once you get the hang of it. Just remember to conjugate करना based on who is doing the spending and when.

Imagine you're scrolling through Instagram and see a cute outfit. You might think, 'Ugh, I shouldn't खर्च करना more money right now!' Or maybe your friend texts, 'Let's go to the movies!' and you reply, 'Okay, but I don't want to खर्च करना too much.' On a work call, you might say, 'We need to be careful not to खर्च करना the budget on unnecessary items.' Even when you're gaming, you might say, 'I spent all my in-game currency, I really खर्च करना it all!' It's everywhere!

Use खर्च करना anytime you're talking about allocating or using up resources. This includes money, obviously – buying groceries, paying bills, or treating yourself. But it also extends to time. If you spent hours watching a Netflix series, you खर्च करना your time. If you put a lot of effort into a project, you खर्च करना your energy. It’s the most common and versatile way to express this idea in Hindi. If you're unsure, this is probably the phrase you want.

Don't use खर्च करना for abstract concepts like 'spending time thinking' if you mean contemplating deeply without a specific goal. For that, other verbs might be better. Also, avoid it for earning or saving money – it’s strictly about outflow. If you're discussing investment, where money is put in with the expectation of return, निवेश करना (nivesh karna - to invest) is more appropriate. It's not for giving gifts either; that would be देना (dena - to give) or उपहार देना (uphaar dena - to gift). It’s specifically about the act of expenditure.

Learners often mix up खर्च करना with words that sound similar or have related meanings. A big one is using कमाना (kamana - to earn) instead of खर्च करना. Another common slip is trying to use देना (dena - to give) directly with money when you mean spending. For example, saying 'I gave money for the book' when you mean you bought it. The nuance is important! Also, sometimes people forget to conjugate करना correctly, leading to awkward sentences. It’s like trying to use 'do' in English without changing it for third-person singular – 'He do this' sounds off, right?

• ✗ मैंने किताब दी (Maine kitaab di - I gave the book) → ✓ मैंने किताब के लिए पैसे खर्च किए (Maine kitaab ke liye paise kharch kiye - I spent money for the book)
• ✗ मैं कमा रहा हूँ (Main kama raha hoon - I am earning) → ✓ मैं पैसे खर्च कर रहा हूँ (Main paise kharch kar raha hoon - I am spending money)
• ✗ उसने बहुत समय दिया (Usne bahut samay diya - He gave a lot of time) → ✓ उसने बहुत समय खर्च किया (Usne bahut samay kharch kiya - He spent a lot of time)

While खर्च करना is the most common, you might hear व्यय करना (vyay karna). This is a more formal synonym, often used in official reports or financial contexts. Think of it as the sophisticated older cousin of खर्च करना. For spending time specifically, गुजारना (guzarna) can sometimes be used, like समय गुजारना (samay guzarna - to pass time), but it’s less about active expenditure and more about how time flows. For spending money on luxury or extravagance, उड़ाना (udaana - to blow/fly) can be used informally, like पैसे उड़ाना (paise udaana - to blow money).

The verb करना changes form based on tense and subject. So, you'll see खर्च किया (kharch kiya - spent), खर्च करेगा (kharch karega - will spend), खर्च कर रहा हूँ (kharch kar raha hoon - am spending), and so on. The noun खर्च itself can also be used: यह एक बड़ा खर्च था (Yeh ek bada kharch tha - This was a big expense). Sometimes, people use the English word 'spend' directly in Hinglish: 'I need to spend money.' This is very common in urban India. You might also hear लगाना (lagana) used colloquially for spending money, especially on investments or significant purchases, like मैंने इसमें बहुत पैसा लगाया (Maine ismein bahut paisa lagaya - I invested/put a lot of money into this).