A large part of everyday Hindi predicate vocabulary combines a Persian- or Arabic-origin noun with a Hindi light verb: फ़ैसला करना “decide,” कोशिश करना “try,” मदद करना “help,” असर होना “have an effect,” and इजाज़त देना “give permission.” These combinations are grammatically Hindi. Their nouns participate in Hindi gender, number, case, aspect, and agreement rather than preserving the grammar of their source languages.
Origin is also not a reliable register label. मदद, फ़ैसला, इंतज़ार, कोशिश, and इस्तेमाल are neutral in contemporary educated speech. Other choices may sound literary, bureaucratic, or especially Urdu-associated. The broader continuum is mapped under Perso-Arabic and Urdu-associated vocabulary; register must still be learned word by word and in context.
The borrowed noun supplies the event; Hindi supplies the frame
The noun names the action, state, or relation. A conventional light verb turns it into a predicate and carries inflection.
| Conjunct predicate | Frequent meaning | Typical status |
|---|---|---|
| फ़ैसला करना | decide | neutral |
| कोशिश करना | try | neutral |
| इंतज़ार करना | wait | neutral |
| इस्तेमाल करना | use | neutral |
| ज़िक्र करना | mention | neutral; common in speech and writing |
| गुज़ारिश करना | make a request | polite; often somewhat elevated |
| दरख़्वास्त करना | make a request/application | formal or Urdu-associated in many contexts |
हमने एक हफ़्ते और इंतज़ार करने का फ़ैसला किया।
hamne ek hafte aur intazār karne kā faislā kiyā.
We decided to wait one more week.
This sentence nests इंतज़ार करना inside फ़ैसला करना. There are not two literal acts of “doing.” Each light verb provides a verbal frame for its noun.
मैं आपसे एक छोटी-सी गुज़ारिश करना चाहता हूँ।
maĩ āpse ek choṭī-sī guzāriś karnā cāhtā hū̃.
I would like to make a small request of you. (polite)
The respectful tone comes from the full expression, address form, and context. The Perso-Arabic origin of गुज़ारिश by itself does not make the grammar more polite.
Gender is lexical and controls agreement
The source-language form does not give English-speaking learners a dependable shortcut to Hindi gender. Learn फ़ैसला किया and इस्तेमाल किया, but कोशिश की, मदद की, शिकायत की, and इजाज़त दी.
सबा ने मेरी बहुत मदद की।
sabā ne merī bahut madad kī.
Saba helped me a great deal.
ग्राहकों ने देरी की कई शिकायतें कीं।
grāhakoṃ ne derī kī kaī śikāyateṃ kīṃ.
Customers made several complaints about the delay.
संपादक ने पुराने शीर्षक का फिर से इस्तेमाल किया।
sampādak ne purāne śīrṣak kā phir se istemāl kiyā.
The editor reused the old title.
In canonical perfectives with करना, the agent takes ने. The unmarked predicate noun controls की, कीं, or किया. Hindi plural morphology is fully available: फ़ैसले किए, शिकायतें कीं, कोशिशें कीं.
The ending -त is frequent in feminine nouns such as इजाज़त, शिकायत, and इज़्ज़त, but it is not a universal rule that can replace dictionary learning. The safest practice is to record every noun with an agreeing adjective or perfective predicate.
Complement frames must be learned whole
English verbs often hide relations that Hindi expresses through a postposition inside the noun phrase.
| Hindi frame | Meaning |
|---|---|
| किसी का इंतज़ार करना | wait for someone |
| किसी की मदद करना | help someone |
| किसी पर शक करना | suspect someone |
| किसी का ज़िक्र करना | mention someone/something |
| किसी से शिकायत करना | complain to someone |
| किसी की शिकायत करना | complain about someone |
मुझे शुरू से उस सौदे पर शक था।
mujhe śurū se us saude par śak thā.
I was suspicious of that deal from the beginning.
क्या तुमने मकान-मालिक से पानी की शिकायत की?
kyā tumne makān-mālik se pānī kī śikāyat kī?
Did you complain to the landlord about the water? (informal)
In the second example, से identifies the addressee and पानी की identifies the matter complained about. Replacing both with an English-style direct object would erase this distinction.
करना and होना reorganize perspective
Several nouns alternate between an agentive करना construction and a nonagentive होना construction:
दवा ने दो घंटे में असर किया।
davā ne do ghaṇṭe meṃ asar kiyā.
The medicine took effect within two hours.
इस बार दवा का कोई असर नहीं हुआ।
is bār davā kā koī asar nahīṃ huā.
This time the medicine had no effect.
The first profiles दवा as the source of an effective action and uses perfective ने. The second makes असर the intransitive agreeing noun and relates the medicine to it with का.
जाँच के बाद अधिकारी ने अंतिम फ़ैसला किया।
jā̃c ke bād adhikārī ne antim faislā kiyā.
After the inquiry, the official made the final decision.
जाँच पूरी होने के बाद अंतिम फ़ैसला हुआ।
jā̃c pūrī hone ke bād antim faislā huā.
The final decision came after the inquiry was completed.
The होना form is event-centered, not simply a passive version of the first. If the agent needs to be retained in a formal passive, Hindi can say फ़ैसला अधिकारी द्वारा किया गया.
Aspect and vector expansion
The noun's event type shapes aspect. इंतज़ार कर रहा है easily presents a durative activity; फ़ैसला कर रहा है can describe deliberation leading toward a decision; perfective फ़ैसला किया presents the decision event as bounded.
नूर बाहर टैक्सी का इंतज़ार कर रही है।
nūr bāhar ṭaiksī kā intazār kar rahī hai.
Noor is waiting outside for a taxi.
A vector can follow bare कर- when its own contribution is useful:
हमने लौटने से पहले सारी ज़रूरी खरीदारी कर ली।
hamne lauṭne se pahle sārī zarūrī xarīdārī kar lī.
We got all the necessary shopping done before returning.
उसने बैठक में मेरे नाम का भी ज़िक्र कर दिया।
usne baiṭhak meṃ mere nām kā bhī zikr kar diyā.
He or she went ahead and mentioned my name in the meeting.
In the last sentence, देना profiles the mention as released into the conversation, perhaps unexpectedly. It does not mean that someone literally gave a mention. Vector acceptability remains collocational, and a heavier vector should not be added merely to sound more idiomatic.
Register is a system of alternatives, not a purity scale
Contemporary Hindi often offers a neutral Perso-Arabic item and a more Sanskritic formal alternative:
- मदद करना is neutral; सहायता करना is common in formal or institutional prose.
- फ़ैसला करना is neutral; निर्णय लेना/करना is often formal or administrative.
- इस्तेमाल करना is neutral; उपयोग करना is frequent in instructions and formal writing.
- ज़िक्र करना is neutral; उल्लेख करना is common in formal and academic writing.
- इजाज़त देना is neutral; अनुमति देना is frequent in official contexts.
These pairs are not always exact substitutes. फ़ैसला करना can be personal, while official निर्णय लेना may frame an institutional resolution. A polished speaker chooses for audience and genre rather than avoiding one historical source.
A dialogue: neutral and institutional choices
क्या प्रबंधक ने छुट्टी की इजाज़त दे दी?
kyā prabandhak ne chuṭṭī kī ijāzat de dī?
Has the manager approved the leave? (neutral conversation)
हाँ, उन्होंने मौखिक इजाज़त दी है; लिखित अनुमति कल मिलेगी।
hā̃, unhoṃne maukhik ijāzat dī hai; likhit anumati kal milegī.
Yes, they have given verbal permission; written authorization will arrive tomorrow.
ठीक है, तब तक किसी से इसका ज़िक्र मत करना।
ṭhīk hai, tab tak kisī se iskā zikr mat karnā.
All right, don't mention it to anyone until then. (informal)
The reply naturally mixes neutral इजाज़त with institutional लिखित अनुमति because the referents differ. The final negative imperative uses neutral ज़िक्र करना. Mixing lexical histories is not itself inconsistent style.
Common Mistakes
1. Guessing masculine agreement for every loan noun
❌ अली ने मेरी मदद किया।
Incorrect — मदद is feminine and controls की in this perfective.
✅ अली ने रास्ता खोजने में मेरी मदद की।
alī ne rāstā khojne meṃ merī madad kī.
Ali helped me find the way.
2. Copying an English direct-object frame
❌ हम बस तुम्हें इंतज़ार कर रहे हैं।
Incorrect — the awaited person belongs in a का/की/के phrase.
✅ हम बस तुम्हारा इंतज़ार कर रहे हैं।
ham bas tumhārā intazār kar rahe haiṃ.
We're just waiting for you. (informal)
3. Confusing complaint addressee and target
❌ मैंने ग्राहक की देरी से शिकायत की।
Wrong for 'I complained to the customer about the delay'—the postpositions reverse the roles.
✅ मैंने ग्राहक से देरी की शिकायत की।
maĩne grāhak se derī kī śikāyat kī.
I complained to the customer about the delay.
4. Treating a vector as its dictionary verb
❌ हमने फ़ैसला लिया किया।
Incorrect — do not stack literal translations of 'take' and 'make.'
✅ हमने आज ही फ़ैसला कर लिया।
hamne āj hī faislā kar liyā.
We made the decision today and settled the matter.
Key Takeaways
- Perso-Arabic event nouns are fully integrated into Hindi grammar and span neutral, formal, literary, and Urdu-associated registers.
- Learn each noun with its gender, light verb, and complement frame: मदद की, फ़ैसला किया, किसी पर शक किया.
- करना profiles an agentive event; होना often profiles occurrence, experience, or effect.
- Added vectors contribute boundedness, result, direction, or evaluation to the whole predicate, not a second literal action.
- Register choice depends on audience and collocation, not on treating one lexical source as inherently better Hindi.
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Start learning Hindi →Related Topics
- Gender of tatsama and Perso-Arabic loansA1 — Learn how Sanskrit tatsama and Perso-Arabic nouns enter Hindi gender, number, case, agreement, and vocative patterns.
- Noun plus करना predicatesB2 — Build Hindi conjunct predicates in which a noun supplies the event and करना carries tense, aspect, agreement, and agentive structure.
- Noun plus होना predicatesB2 — Use noun plus होना to present states, experiences, and events as obtaining or occurring without profiling an external agent.
- Perfective object agreementA2 — Make a transitive perfective agree with an eligible unmarked direct object after ने, including gender-number and auxiliary-bearing forms.
- Perso-Arabic and Urdu-associated vocabularyC1 — Use shared and Urdu-associated vocabulary by collocation, domain, audience, and literary stance rather than treating origin as a fixed register label.
- Hindi and Urdu as registers and standardsC1 — Distinguish shared colloquial Hindustani from the scripts, formal vocabularies, institutions, and identities of Standard Hindi and Standard Urdu.