English makes have cover possession, family, illness, events, meals, obligation, and caused actions. Hindi has no single everyday transitive verb with that entire range. Trying to insert one “have verb”—often रखना rakhnā “keep”—produces errors such as ❌ मैं दो बहनें रखता हूँ for “I have two sisters.”
The repair begins with meaning, not vocabulary: decide what relationship English have expresses, then choose a Hindi predicate. This page is an error clinic; the full possession contrast belongs on का versus के पास.
One English word, several Hindi structures
| Meaning of have | Hindi pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| available possession or resource | possessor + के पास + item + होना | मेरे पास कार है |
| ownership or defining relation | का/के/की noun; often predicate होना | यह मेरी कार है |
| kinship or body relation | agreeing genitive phrase + होना | मेरी दो बहनें हैं |
| experienced condition | experiencer को + condition + होना | मुझे बुख़ार है |
| event or meal | lexical predicate, often करना | नाश्ता करना |
| obligation | experiencer को + infinitive + होना/पड़ना | मुझे जाना है |
| have something done | causative verb | बाल कटवाना |
Possession and access use के पास
For money, tools, tickets, time, information, and other resources within someone's practical sphere, use के पास + होना. The possessor appears in an oblique/genitive-like form, while the possessed item controls है/हैं.
मेरे पास फ़िलहाल कार नहीं है।
mere pās filhāl kār nahīṃ hai.
I don't have a car at present.
क्या आपके पास दो टिकट हैं?
kyā āpke pās do ṭikaṭ haiṃ?
Do you have two tickets? (respectful)
हमारे पास बात करने के लिए बहुत कम समय है।
hamāre pās bāt karne ke lie bahut kam samay hai.
We have very little time to talk.
English makes I the grammatical subject of I have a car. Hindi presents the car as existing मेरे पास, “within my reach/sphere.” This locative logic explains why singular कार takes है, plural टिकट takes हैं, and the possessor does not determine the copula.
का/के/की answers a different question: whose or what relation? Compare यह मेरी कार है “This is my car” with यह कार अभी मेरे पास है “I have this car with me now.” Legal ownership and current custody can diverge.
कार दीपा की है, लेकिन इस हफ़्ते मेरे पास है।
kār dīpā kī hai, lekin is hafte mere pās hai.
The car belongs to Deepa, but I have it this week.
Kinship is a relation, not portable inventory
Neutral family statements use a genitive relational phrase: मेरी दो बहनें हैं, literally something like “my two sisters exist.” के पास can imply physical presence or custody, and रखना treats the person as someone retained or kept.
मेरी दो छोटी बहनें हैं।
merī do choṭī bahneṃ haiṃ.
I have two younger sisters.
अजय के तीन बच्चे हैं।
ajay ke tīn bacce haiṃ.
Ajay has three children.
The same relational strategy is normal with body parts: उसकी आँखें नीली हैं “He/She has blue eyes.” English ownership syntax must not force Hindi to frame family members or body parts as objects held nearby.
Conditions use an experiencer
Physical and mental states commonly use को + होना or another experiencer predicate. The person experiences the condition; it is not an item in the person's inventory.
मुझे तेज़ बुख़ार है।
mujhe tez buxār hai.
I have a high fever.
उसे आज बहुत सिरदर्द है।
use āj bahut sirdard hai.
He/She has a bad headache today.
क्या तुम्हें भूख लगी है?
kyā tumheṃ bhūkh lagī hai?
Are you hungry? (literally, Has hunger affected you?; informal)
मेरे पास बुख़ार है is comprehensible but sounds as though fever were a possessed resource. The listener may picture a foreign-language calque rather than an ordinary health statement. The corrected मुझे बुख़ार है places the experiencer in the dative-like को form.
Events choose their own verb
English have contributes little lexical meaning in have breakfast, have a conversation, have a meeting, and have a rest. Hindi names the event directly.
हमने आठ बजे नाश्ता किया।
hamne āṭh baje nāśtā kiyā.
We had breakfast at eight.
कल हमारी एक ज़रूरी बैठक है।
kal hamārī ek zarūrī baiṭhak hai.
We have an important meeting tomorrow.
हमने रास्ते में देर तक बात की।
hamne rāste meṃ der tak bāt kī.
We had a long conversation on the way.
थोड़ा आराम कर लो; फिर निकलेंगे।
thoṛā ārām kar lo; phir nikleṅge.
Have a little rest; then we'll leave. (informal)
The natural verb depends on the noun: नाश्ता करना, बात करना, बैठक होना, आराम करना. There is no useful master rule that selects one Hindi verb for every English light-verb expression; these common collocations must be learned as units.
Obligation is not possession
English have to is a modal expression. Hindi commonly uses को + infinitive + होना, or पड़ना when external necessity is prominent.
मुझे कल जल्दी निकलना है।
mujhe kal jaldī nikalnā hai.
I have to leave early tomorrow.
हमें टिकट फिर से ख़रीदने पड़ेंगे।
hameṃ ṭikaṭ phir se xarīdne paṛeṅge.
We will have to buy the tickets again.
मेरे पास जाना है normally begins a different structure—something like “there is something with me to go...” —and does not express obligation by itself. The experiencer is मुझे, not possessive मेरे पास.
“Have something done” uses a causative
In I had my hair cut, English have introduces another person's action. Hindi normally expresses that relation inside a causative verb.
मैंने कल अपने बाल कटवाए।
maĩne kal apne bāl kaṭvāe.
I had my hair cut yesterday.
हमने तकनीशियन से फ़ोन ठीक करवाया।
hamne taknīśiyan se fon ṭhīk karvāyā.
We had the technician repair the phone.
कटवाना/करवाना adds an intermediary causer layer. Neither के पास nor ordinary रखना can replace it.
The near-exception: रखना can really mean keep
Do not ban रखना. It is a genuine transitive verb meaning “put, keep, retain, employ, maintain,” and some contexts naturally translate it with English have.
मैं अपने पास ज़्यादा नक़द नहीं रखता।
maĩ apne pās zyādā naqad nahīṃ rakhtā.
I don't keep much cash on me. (male speaker)
वह घर पर एक ड्राइवर रखती है।
vah ghar par ek ḍrāivar rakhtī hai.
She employs a driver for the household.
These sentences assert keeping or retaining, not bare possession. मैं कार रखता हूँ may mean “I keep/maintain a car” in a context where owning and maintaining one is relevant; neutral “I have a car available” remains मेरे पास कार है. The near-equivalence is precisely why रखना becomes a tempting but unreliable dictionary substitute.
A corrected dialogue turn
अ: क्या तुम एक चार्जर रखते हो? — ब: अगर तुम पूछ रहे हो कि मेरे पास चार्जर है या नहीं—हाँ, मेरे बैग में है।
a: kyā tum ek cārjar rakhte ho? — ba: agar tum pūch rahe ho ki mere pās cārjar hai yā nahīṃ—hā̃, mere baig meṃ hai.
A: Do you keep a charger? — B: If you're asking whether I have a charger—yes, it's in my bag. (informal, male addressees)
The first question can mean a habitual practice: “Do you keep/carry one?” The reply reformulates the intended availability question with मेरे पास. Both are grammatical, but they do not ask exactly the same thing.
Common Mistakes
Copying English subject–have–object order
❌ मैं एक कार है।
Incorrect—Hindi does not use होना as a transitive have verb.
✅ मेरे पास एक कार है।
mere pās ek kār hai.
I have a car.
Using रखना for a family relation
❌ मैं दो बहनें रखता हूँ।
Incorrect for neutral kinship—it sounds as though the sisters are people the speaker keeps or retains.
✅ मेरी दो बहनें हैं।
merī do bahneṃ haiṃ.
I have two sisters.
Treating illness as an available possession
❌ मेरे पास आज तेज़ बुख़ार है।
Nonstandard for the ordinary health statement—use an experiencer with मुझे.
✅ मुझे आज तेज़ बुख़ार है।
mujhe āj tez buxār hai.
I have a high fever today.
Keeping have in a meal expression
❌ हमने सात बजे नाश्ता था।
Incorrect—नाश्ता forms an event predicate with करना.
✅ हमने सात बजे नाश्ता किया।
hamne sāt baje nāśtā kiyā.
We had breakfast at seven.
Using के पास for obligation
❌ मेरे पास आज काम करना है।
Wrong for ‘I have to work today’—obligation uses मुझे; मेरे पास would need a possessed noun such as समय.
✅ मुझे आज काम करना है।
mujhe āj kām karnā hai.
I have to work today.
Quick self-check
Replace English have with a more precise paraphrase. “Possess or have available” suggests के पास; “belongs to” suggests का/के/की; “is related to me” suggests a genitive relational phrase; “experience” suggests को; “perform an event” needs that event's verb; “be obliged” needs को + infinitive; and “cause another person to do it” needs a causative. Use रखना only when “keep, retain, employ, or maintain” remains a truthful paraphrase.
Key Takeaways
- Hindi has no single everyday transitive verb matching every use of English have.
- के पास + होना expresses access or possession; का/के/की expresses ownership and defining relations.
- Health, meals, meetings, conversations, and obligation each select their own Hindi predicate.
- रखना is valid when “keep/retain” is meant, not as a universal substitute for have.
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Start learning Hindi →Related Topics
- का versus के पास for possessionA2 — Distinguish identifying ownership and relationship with का from asserting custody, access, or availability with के पास.
- के पास possession and proximityA2 — Use के पास for physical nearness and possessive existence, distinguishing what someone has from what belongs to them.
- का के की possession and agreementA1 — Choose का, के, or की by the gender, number, and case of the possessed expression while putting noun possessors in the oblique form.
- Locative and possessive होनाA1 — Use होना to locate entities and express possession through के पास or genitive relations, with agreement controlled by the located or possessed noun.
- Possessive and necessity predicatesB1 — Distinguish Hindi possession, need, advice, obligation, and external necessity through their case frames and agreement controllers.
- करना कराना करवाना contrastsB2 — Distinguish doing an action, causing it directly, and arranging for it through करना, कराना, and करवाना.