पसंद करना

The Hindi verb पसंद करना (pasand karnā) is one of the most fundamental and frequently used verbs in the Hindi language. For English speakers learning Hindi, mastering this verb is an absolute necessity because it translates directly to the English verb 'to like' or 'to find agreeable'. However, its usage, etymology, and grammatical structure offer a fascinating glimpse into the rich linguistic history of the Indian subcontinent. The word 'pasand' actually originates from the Persian language, where it means 'pleasing', 'approved', or 'acceptable'. When combined with the Hindi auxiliary verb 'karna' (to do), it forms a conjunct verb that literally translates to 'to do pleasing' or 'to make a choice'. This construction is extremely common in Hindi, where nouns or adjectives borrowed from Persian, Arabic, or Sanskrit are paired with 'karna' or 'hona' to create verbs.

In everyday conversation, you will hear 'pasand karna' used in a wide variety of contexts. It is used to express preferences for food, clothing, movies, hobbies, and even people. When an Indian host asks you what you would like to drink, they are inquiring about your 'pasand'. When you are shopping in a bustling market in Delhi or Mumbai, the shopkeeper will show you different items and ask which one you 'pasand' do. In the modern digital age, the English concept of 'liking' a post on social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram has been seamlessly translated into Hindi using this exact verb. You will often see buttons or prompts asking users to 'pasand karein' (please like) a video or a picture.

Literal Meaning

To do approval or to make a choice.

Common Translation

To like, to prefer, to appreciate.

Root Origin

Persian 'pasand' combined with Hindi 'karna'.

One of the most interesting aspects of expressing likes in Hindi is that there are two distinct grammatical ways to do it, and understanding the difference is crucial for sounding like a native speaker. The first method uses 'pasand karna' as an active, transitive verb. In this structure, the person who likes something is the subject, and they actively 'do the liking'. For example, 'Main chai pasand karta hoon' means 'I like tea'. This form is often used when emphasizing a conscious choice, a habit, or a strong preference. It is frequently used in formal contexts, in writing, or when making a definitive statement about one's tastes.

However, the second method is actually much more common in everyday, colloquial spoken Hindi. This method uses the dative case, where the subject takes the postposition 'ko' (to), and the verb used is 'hona' (to be) instead of 'karna' (to do). The structure becomes 'Mujhe X pasand hai', which literally translates to 'To me, X is pleasing'. While this article focuses primarily on the active verb 'pasand karna', it is impossible to teach it effectively without contrasting it with the dative 'pasand hai' structure. Native speakers switch between these two forms fluidly depending on the context, the level of formality, and regional dialects. Generally, 'mujhe pasand hai' is the default for simple, everyday likes, while 'main pasand karta hoon' carries a slightly more deliberate or formal tone.

Active Form

Subject + Object + pasand karta/karti + hoon/hai.

Dative Form

Subject-ko + Object + pasand + hai.

Beyond simple preferences for objects or food, 'pasand karna' is also heavily used in the context of interpersonal relationships. In Indian culture, particularly in the context of arranged marriages, the process of families meeting and individuals deciding if they want to marry is often described using this verb. If a man and a woman meet and find each other agreeable, they will say 'Maine use pasand kar liya hai' (I have liked/approved of him/her). It is a crucial step before formalizing an engagement. In modern dating, it simply means to have a crush on someone or to be romantically interested in them. 'Main tumhe bahut pasand karta hoon' is a common way to confess feelings, sitting somewhere between a casual 'I like you' and a deep 'I love you' (main tumse pyar karta hoon).

Furthermore, 'pasand karna' can take another verb as its object, allowing you to express that you like doing a particular activity. In this case, the activity verb is placed in its infinitive form (ending in -na) right before 'pasand karna'. For instance, 'khelna' means 'to play'. To say 'I like to play', you would say 'Main khelna pasand karta hoon'. This makes it an incredibly versatile building block for constructing complex sentences about hobbies, routines, and lifestyle choices. Whether you are talking about reading books (kitabein padhna), traveling (ghoomna), or listening to music (sangeet sunna), you simply place the infinitive verb phrase before 'pasand karna'.

With Verbs

Use the infinitive form of the action verb before pasand karna.

In summary, 'pasand karna' is not just a vocabulary word; it is a cultural and grammatical cornerstone of the Hindi language. It bridges the gap between Persian heritage and modern Indian daily life. It facilitates conversations about food, art, relationships, and digital interactions. By understanding both its active conjugation and its dative alternative, learners unlock the ability to express their identity, their tastes, and their desires clearly and naturally in Hindi. Mastery of this single verb opens up countless conversational pathways, allowing you to connect with native speakers on a personal level by sharing what brings you joy and what you value in life.

Understanding how to construct sentences with पसंद करना (pasand karnā) requires a solid grasp of Hindi verb conjugation and sentence structure. Hindi follows a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) word order, which is different from the Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) order used in English. Therefore, the verb 'pasand karna' will almost always appear at the very end of the sentence. Because it is a conjunct verb made of the noun/adjective 'pasand' and the verb 'karna', all the grammatical changes—such as tense, gender, and number—are applied exclusively to the 'karna' part. The word 'pasand' remains completely unchanged regardless of who is speaking or what tense is being used. This simplifies things slightly, as you only need to know the standard conjugations for the verb 'karna' (to do).

Let us break down the present tense first, as it is the most common way to express general likes and habits. In the present simple tense, a male speaker saying 'I like' will say 'Main ... pasand karta hoon'. A female speaker will say 'Main ... pasand karti hoon'. Notice how 'karta' changes to 'karti' to reflect the feminine gender of the subject. If the subject is plural, such as 'we' (hum) or 'they' (ve), the verb becomes 'karte hain'. For example, 'Hum kriket pasand karte hain' means 'We like cricket'. When speaking formally to someone using the pronoun 'aap' (you, formal), you also use the plural masculine form 'karte hain' or feminine 'karti hain' out of respect. 'Aap kya pasand karte hain?' translates to 'What do you like?'.

Masculine Singular

मैं पसंद करता हूँ (Main pasand karta hoon)

Feminine Singular

मैं पसंद करती हूँ (Main pasand karti hoon)

Plural / Formal

हम/आप पसंद करते हैं (Hum/Aap pasand karte hain)

Moving to the past tense, the rules change significantly due to a unique feature of Hindi grammar called ergativity. Because 'pasand karna' is a transitive verb (it takes a direct object), when it is used in the simple past tense (perfective aspect), the subject must take the postposition 'ne'. When 'ne' is attached to the subject, the verb no longer agrees with the subject; instead, it agrees with the gender and number of the object. If the object is masculine singular, the verb becomes 'pasand kiya'. If the object is feminine singular, it becomes 'pasand ki'. For example, if a man or a woman says 'I liked the apple' (seb is masculine), they both say 'Maine seb pasand kiya'. If they say 'I liked the tea' (chai is feminine), they both say 'Maine chai pasand ki'. This ergative rule is often challenging for beginners but is essential for correct past tense usage.

Past Tense Rule

Subject + ne + Object + pasand kiya/ki/kiye/kin.

Masculine Object

मैंने वह घर पसंद किया। (I liked that house.)

Feminine Object

उसने यह गाड़ी पसंद की। (He/She liked this car.)

In the future tense, the verb 'karna' conjugates to show future intention. A male speaker will say 'Main pasand karoonga' (I will like/choose), and a female speaker will say 'Main pasand karoongi'. The plural/formal form is 'pasand karenge'. The future tense is often used when making decisions, such as looking at a menu in a restaurant or shopping for clothes. You might say, 'Main yeh wala pasand karoonga' meaning 'I will choose/like this one'. It implies a decision being made in the moment that will affect the immediate future.

It is also vital to understand negative sentences. To say 'do not like', you simply place the negative particle 'nahi' (no/not) immediately before the verb 'pasand'. So, 'Main pasand nahi karta hoon' means 'I do not like'. In spoken Hindi, the auxiliary verb 'hoon/hai/hain' is sometimes dropped in negative sentences, making it simply 'Main pasand nahi karta'. Another way to express dislike is to use the antonym 'napasand karna' (to dislike), though using 'pasand nahi karna' is generally more common and sounds slightly softer. By mastering these conjugations across present, past, and future tenses, and understanding how to form negatives, learners can express a vast array of preferences, opinions, and choices accurately in Hindi.

The word पसंद करना (pasand karnā) is ubiquitous in Hindi-speaking environments. You will encounter it in almost every facet of daily life, from casual street conversations to formal business meetings, and from classic Bollywood cinema to modern digital interfaces. One of the most common places you will hear this word is in the context of food and hospitality. Indian culture places a massive emphasis on hosting guests (mehman-nawazi), and a core part of this is ensuring the guest is served food and drinks that they enjoy. When you visit an Indian home, the host will almost certainly ask, 'Aap kya khana pasand karenge?' (What would you like to eat?). In restaurants, waiters use formal variations of this verb to take orders, asking about your preferences for spice levels, vegetarian or non-vegetarian options, and desserts. Food is a universal language, and 'pasand karna' is the key to navigating it in India.

Shopping is another domain where this verb reigns supreme. Whether you are bargaining for textiles in the colorful bazaars of Jaipur, buying jewelry in Hyderabad, or browsing a modern shopping mall in Delhi, expressing your choices relies heavily on 'pasand karna'. Shopkeepers will present various items and ask, 'Kya aapne kuch pasand kiya?' (Have you liked/chosen anything?). If you want to reject an item politely, you can say, 'Mujhe yeh pasand nahi aaya' (I didn't like this) or 'Main kuch aur pasand karunga' (I will choose something else). The verb is deeply tied to the act of selection and consumer preference. It empowers the buyer to navigate endless options and communicate exactly what suits their taste.

Hospitality

Used to ask guests about their food and drink preferences.

Retail

Used by shopkeepers to help customers select items.

Entertainment

Used to discuss favorite movies, songs, and actors.

Bollywood, the massive Hindi film industry, is perhaps the greatest global exporter of the Hindi language, and 'pasand karna' features prominently in its scripts and songs. Romantic storylines often revolve around characters realizing who they truly 'pasand' do. You will hear dramatic dialogues where a protagonist confesses, 'Main sirf tumhe pasand karta hoon' (I only like you). In the context of arranged marriages, which is a frequent theme in Indian cinema and television dramas, the phrase 'Ladke ne ladki ko pasand kar liya' (The boy has approved of/liked the girl) is a pivotal plot point. The verb captures the tension, the romance, and the societal expectations surrounding relationships and marriage in South Asian culture.

In the modern era, the internet and social media have given 'pasand karna' a massive new domain of usage. Every time a Hindi speaker uses Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram with the language set to Hindi, the 'Like' button is translated as 'Pasand karein'. Content creators and YouTubers constantly end their videos by saying, 'Agar aapko video pasand aayi, toh like aur share karein' (If you liked the video, please like and share). The digital metric of 'likes' is referred to as 'pasand'. This digital integration shows how a traditional verb with Persian roots has seamlessly adapted to 21st-century technology. It proves that 'pasand karna' is not just a static vocabulary word, but a living, breathing part of the evolving Hindi language.

Social Media

The direct translation for the 'Like' button on platforms.

Arranged Marriages

Used to indicate approval of a prospective bride or groom.

Finally, you will hear this word in professional and academic settings. During job interviews, an employer might ask, 'Aap kis tarah ka mahol pasand karte hain?' (What kind of environment do you prefer?). In schools, teachers ask students about the subjects they like. It is used to express professional preferences, work styles, and academic interests. Because it can range from expressing a casual liking for a cup of tea to a deep, considered preference for a career path, 'pasand karna' is truly a word for all seasons and all situations in the Hindi-speaking world.

When English speakers learn the Hindi verb पसंद करना (pasand karnā), they frequently encounter a few specific stumbling blocks. Because the concept of 'liking' maps slightly differently in Hindi grammar compared to English, direct word-for-word translation often leads to errors. The most prevalent and confusing mistake involves mixing up the active construction ('pasand karna') with the dative construction ('pasand hona/hai'). In English, 'I like apples' is a straightforward Subject-Verb-Object sentence. A beginner might try to translate this literally into Hindi using the dative structure but keeping the nominative pronoun, resulting in the incorrect sentence: 'Main seb pasand hai'. This is grammatically nonsensical in Hindi. It literally translates to 'I am pleasing apples'.

To fix this, the learner must choose one of two distinct paths. Path A is the active voice: 'Main seb pasand karta hoon' (I like apples). Here, 'Main' (I) is the subject, and the verb 'karta hoon' agrees with the masculine singular subject 'Main'. Path B is the dative voice: 'Mujhe seb pasand hai' (To me, apples are pleasing). Here, the subject 'I' transforms into the dative pronoun 'Mujhe' (to me), and the verb 'hai' (is) agrees with the object 'seb' (apples). Mixing the pronoun from Path A ('Main') with the verb ending from Path B ('hai') is the number one mistake beginners make. It takes practice to mentally separate these two structures and use them consistently without cross-contamination.

Incorrect

मैं चाय पसंद है। (Main chai pasand hai.)

Correct (Active)

मैं चाय पसंद करता हूँ। (Main chai pasand karta hoon.)

Correct (Dative)

मुझे चाय पसंद है। (Mujhe chai pasand hai.)

Another frequent error occurs when using 'pasand karna' in the past tense. As mentioned earlier, 'pasand karna' is a transitive verb, meaning it takes a direct object. In Hindi, transitive verbs in the perfective past tense require the subject to take the ergative marker 'ne'. English speakers often forget this rule because English has no equivalent. A learner might say 'Main yeh film pasand kiya' (I liked this film), which is incorrect. Because it is past tense, 'Main' must become 'Maine' (Main + ne). Furthermore, the verb must agree with the object, not the subject. Since 'film' is a feminine noun in Hindi, the verb 'kiya' must change to 'ki'. The correct sentence is 'Maine yeh film pasand ki'. Forgetting the 'ne' marker and failing to make the verb agree with the object's gender are twin mistakes that immediately mark a speaker as a non-native.

Incorrect Past

मैं किताब पसंद किया। (Main kitab pasand kiya.)

Correct Past

मैंने किताब पसंद की। (Maine kitab pasand ki.) - Kitab is feminine.

A third common mistake relates to using infinitive verbs as objects. When you want to say 'I like to sleep', the verb 'to sleep' (sona) acts as the object. Learners sometimes try to conjugate both verbs, saying something like 'Main sota pasand karta hoon', which is incorrect. The secondary verb must remain in its pure infinitive form, ending in '-na'. The correct phrasing is 'Main sona pasand karta hoon'. The infinitive verb in Hindi functions as a masculine singular verbal noun. Therefore, if you are using the past tense with an infinitive object, the main verb will always be masculine singular ('kiya'). For example, 'Maine wahan jana pasand kiya' (I liked going there). Remembering that infinitive verbs act as masculine singular nouns helps resolve a lot of confusion regarding agreement.

Finally, learners sometimes overuse 'pasand karna' when other verbs might be more appropriate. While it is a versatile word, using it to express deep romantic love can sound a bit understated. If you want to say 'I love you', saying 'Main tumhe pasand karta hoon' translates closer to 'I have a crush on you' or 'I really like you'. For true love, 'pyar karna' or 'mohabbat karna' are the correct terms. Conversely, using 'pasand karna' for minor, fleeting preferences might sound too formal in casual street slang, where 'achchha lagna' (to feel good) is often preferred. Navigating these subtle nuances of register and intensity takes time, but avoiding the major grammatical pitfalls of dative mixing and ergative past tense will immediately elevate your Hindi to a much more proficient level.

While पसंद करना (pasand karnā) is the most direct and common translation for 'to like', the Hindi language offers a rich tapestry of alternative verbs and phrases to express preference, affection, and enjoyment. Knowing these alternatives allows a speaker to add nuance, adjust their level of formality, and sound more like a native speaker. The most important alternative to understand is the phrase अच्छा लगना (achchhā lagnā). This phrase literally translates to 'to seem good' or 'to feel good'. It is used almost interchangeably with the dative form of pasand (mujhe pasand hai), but it carries a slightly different flavor. 'Achchha lagna' is often used for sensory experiences or spontaneous feelings of liking. For example, 'Mujhe yeh gaana achchha lagta hai' (I like this song / This song feels good to me). It feels slightly more passive and emotional than 'pasand karna', which can imply a more active, cognitive choice.

Another closely related concept is चाहना (chāhnā), which translates to 'to want', 'to desire', or sometimes 'to love'. While 'pasand karna' is about liking something that is present or an established fact, 'chahna' often implies a desire to possess or achieve something that you do not currently have. For instance, 'Main ek nayi gaadi chahta hoon' means 'I want a new car'. However, in romantic contexts, 'chahna' elevates the feeling beyond mere liking. 'Main tumhe chahta hoon' is a poetic and intense way of saying 'I desire you' or 'I love you', often found in Bollywood songs and literature. It is much stronger than 'pasand karna'.

अच्छा लगना (achchha lagna)

To feel good / to appeal to the senses. Very common in casual speech.

चाहना (chahna)

To want / to desire. Stronger emotional pull or indicating a lack of the object.

प्यार करना (pyar karna)

To love. Used for deep romantic or familial affection.

For expressing deep affection, प्यार करना (pyār karnā) or प्रेम करना (prem karnā) are the appropriate verbs. These translate directly to 'to love'. While English speakers might casually say 'I love pizza', translating this directly to 'Main pizza se pyar karta hoon' sounds slightly comical and overly dramatic in Hindi. In Hindi, 'pyar karna' is generally reserved for living beings—family, friends, pets, and romantic partners. For inanimate objects or food, 'bahut pasand karna' (to like a lot) or 'bahut achchha lagna' are the culturally appropriate ways to express strong preference without sounding melodramatic.

A more literary or poetic alternative is the verb भाना (bhānā), which means 'to appeal to' or 'to be pleasing'. It is structurally similar to 'achchha lagna' and is often used in literature, poetry, or older forms of Hindi. For example, 'Mujhe yeh jagah bhati hai' means 'This place appeals to me'. While you might not use it in everyday street conversation, recognizing it will greatly enhance your comprehension of Hindi literature and classic film dialogues. Another formal alternative is रुचि होना (ruchi honā), which means 'to have an interest in'. This is highly formal and is used in academic or professional contexts. 'Meri is vishay mein ruchi hai' translates to 'I have an interest in this subject'. By understanding these alternatives, learners can move beyond basic communication and express their thoughts with precision, cultural appropriateness, and stylistic flair.

भाना (bhana)

To appeal. Poetic and literary.

रुचि होना (ruchi hona)

To have an interest. Formal and academic.

In conclusion, while 'pasand karna' is your reliable, everyday workhorse for expressing likes and preferences, expanding your vocabulary to include 'achchha lagna', 'chahna', 'pyar karna', and 'ruchi hona' will make your Hindi sound much more natural and expressive. It allows you to distinguish between a casual sensory pleasure, an active choice, a deep desire, and a formal academic interest, giving you the full spectrum of human preference at your fingertips.