काम करना

You treat this as a compound verb. This means you only change the karna part to match the person speaking. For example, a man says main kaam karta hoon. A woman says main kaam karti hoon. If you are talking about a project, you say main project par kaam kar raha hoon. It is very flexible. You can add adverbs like dhire (slowly) or tez (fast) before kaam. Just remember to keep kaam and karna close together. They are like best friends in a sentence.

Use it when someone asks what you do for a living. Use it when you are busy and cannot talk. It is perfect for the office. Use it at home when talking about cleaning or cooking. It is also the word for 'functioning.' If your car starts, it is kaam kar rahi hai. If your plan is succeeding, the plan is kaam kar raha hai. It is the ultimate 'utility' phrase in Hindi.

Do not use it for 'working out' at the gym. For that, use kasrat karna or exercise karna. Do not use it for 'working through' an emotional problem. That sounds a bit robotic in Hindi. Avoid using it if you want to sound very poetic or high-brow. In those cases, words like karya are preferred. Also, don't confuse it with kaam aana. That means 'to be useful,' which is a different vibe entirely.

In India, work is often tied to your identity and community. You will often hear people ask aap kya kaam karte hain? instead of 'what is your job?' It feels more personal. There is a famous concept of 'Jugaad' in India. This is finding a clever way to make something kaam karna (work) even if it is broken. People take pride in making things work against all odds. It is a very active, 'can-do' phrase.

You will hear naukri karna for specifically doing a corporate job. Mehnat karna is used when you are working really hard. If you are just managing to get by, you say kaam chalana. If you are starting a business, you might say kaam shuru karna. Each variation adds a little flavor to the basic idea of effort.