As a vector or result-maintaining light verb, रखना presents an earlier action as leaving a result that is deliberately kept available: लिख रखा है, बना रखा है, बुक कर रखा है. The event is complete, but the construction directs attention beyond completion to the state that still matters—notes remain written, food remains prepared, or a room remains reserved.
This differs from both simple completion and literal placement. The basic stem-plus-vector architecture is reviewed under compound verbs: lexical stem plus vector; lexical “put/keep” uses are covered separately under रखना as a full verb.
The core maintained-result pattern
The most characteristic pattern is bare lexical stem + inflected रखना + auxiliary:
| Earlier action | Maintained result | What remains true |
|---|---|---|
| लिखना “write” | लिख रखा है | the information is written and available |
| बनाना “make” | बना रखा है | the thing has been made and kept ready |
| बुक करना “book” | बुक कर रखा है | the reservation remains secured |
| खरीदना “buy” | खरीद रखे हैं | the items were bought in advance and remain available |
मैंने पासवर्ड एक सुरक्षित जगह पर लिख रखा है।
maĩne pāsvard ek surakṣit jagah par likh rakhā hai.
I have the password written down in a safe place.
हमने मेहमानों के लिए दो कमरे बुक कर रखे हैं।
hamne mehmānoṃ ke lie do kamre buk kar rakhe haiṃ.
We have two rooms booked for the guests.
जया ने सर्दियों के लिए दो अतिरिक्त चादरें खरीद रखी हैं।
jayā ne sardiyoṃ ke lie do atirikt cādareṃ xarīd rakhī haiṃ.
Jaya has bought and kept two extra sheets for the winter.
The final vector carries agreement: masculine पासवर्ड gives रखा, plural कमरे gives रखे, and feminine plural चादरें gives रखी before plural auxiliary हैं. The lexical stem does not inflect.
Simple present perfect versus maintained result
Compare a minimal pair with the same cook and food:
समीरा ने दाल बनाई है।
samīrā ne dāl banāī hai.
Sameera has made lentils.
समीरा ने दाल बना रखी है।
samīrā ne dāl banā rakhī hai.
Sameera has the lentils prepared and ready.
बनाई है reports a completed making event with current relevance. बना रखी है additionally presents the food as a maintained result—normally still available for serving. The distinction is pragmatic, not merely a longer way to form the perfect.
The maintained state can also be anchored in a past reference frame:
उन्होंने बैठक से पहले सारे दस्तावेज़ मेज़ पर सजा रखे थे।
unhoṃne baiṭhak se pahle sāre dastāvez mez par sajā rakhe the.
They had all the documents arranged on the table before the meeting.
Bare stem सजा- supplies the arranging event, रखे presents its maintained result, and थे locates that result in the past. The auxiliary belongs to the resultative predicate as a whole.
Action done in advance
The construction often implies foresight: an action is completed now so that its result will be useful later.
मैंने कल की यात्रा के लिए कुछ नक़द निकाल रखा है।
maĩne kal kī yātrā ke lie kuch naqad nikāl rakhā hai.
I have taken out some cash in advance for tomorrow's trip.
रवि ने प्रस्तुति की एक अतिरिक्त प्रति छाप रखी है।
ravi ne prastuti kī ek atirikt prati chāp rakhī hai.
Ravi has printed an extra copy of the presentation in advance.
In both cases the action is complete, but its purpose lies ahead. रखना profiles the cash or copy as a resource waiting for the relevant occasion.
Hindi also uses a highly productive -कर + रखना sequence when the speaker wants to show “do X and keep the result” more transparently:
दवा की अगली खुराक निकालकर रख लो।
davā kī aglī xurāk nikālkar rakh lo.
Take out the next dose of medicine and keep it ready. (informal)
मैं शाम तक सभी प्रमाणपत्र स्कैन करके रखूँगी।
maĩ śām tak sabhī pramāṇpatr skain karke rakhū̃gī.
I'll scan all the certificates and keep them ready by evening. (female speaker)
These -कर forms make the two-stage logic visible: perform an action, then maintain its result. They overlap with bare-stem लिख रखा / बना रखा, but not every verb permits both versions equally naturally. Lexical convention decides whether the tighter compound or the transparent conjunctive sequence is preferred.
Maintained state and maintained action-result are neighbors
An adjective or participle can combine with lexical रखना to mean “keep X in a state”:
गर्मी में रसोई का दरवाज़ा खुला रखो।
garmī meṃ rasoī kā darvāzā khulā rakho.
Keep the kitchen door open in summer. (familiar)
Compare the action-result compound:
मैंने रसोई का दरवाज़ा खोल रखा है।
maĩne rasoī kā darvāzā khol rakhā hai.
I have opened the kitchen door and am keeping it open.
खुला रखो begins with a state adjective, while खोल रखा है begins with transitive lexical stem खोल- and implies an earlier opening action. Both yield a maintained open state, but their internal structures and viewpoints differ.
Literal placement is different again:
मैंने चाबी नीले डिब्बे में रखी है।
maĩne cābī nīle ḍibbe meṃ rakhī hai.
I have put the key in the blue box.
Here रखी is the only verb and means literal placement. There is no preceding lexical stem, so this is not a vector compound.
Argument structure and agreement
Perfective transitive resultatives normally mark an overt agent with ने. An unmarked object controls रखा/रखी/रखे, while a को-marked object yields default masculine singular.
संगीता ने मिठाइयाँ पहले से बना रखी हैं।
saṅgītā ne miṭhāiyā̃ pahle se banā rakhī haiṃ.
Sangeeta has the sweets prepared in advance.
Feminine plural मिठाइयाँ controls रखी, and plural हैं carries number in the finite sequence.
मैंने बच्चों को यात्रा के लिए तैयार कर रखा है।
maĩne baccoṃ ko yātrā ke lie taiyār kar rakhā hai.
I have the children ready for the trip.
Specific animate बच्चों को is marked and cannot control agreement, so the predicate uses default रखा है. It does not agree with first-person agent मैंने.
An omitted agent is common when the maintained object is the discourse topic:
खाना बना रखा है; आप जब चाहें खा लीजिए।
khānā banā rakhā hai; āp jab cāheṃ khā lījie.
The food is prepared; please eat whenever you like. (respectful)
The absence of an overt ने phrase does not turn रखा into a passive marker. Context leaves the preparer unexpressed, while masculine खाना controls the resultative predicate.
Negating preparation rather than occurrence
A simple negative denies that the earlier event occurred. A negated रखना compound specifically denies a ready or maintained result.
मैंने आपके लिए कमरा बुक नहीं किया है।
maĩne āpke lie kamrā buk nahīṃ kiyā hai.
I haven't booked a room for you.
मैंने आपके लिए कोई कमरा बुक कर नहीं रखा है।
maĩne āpke lie koī kamrā buk kar nahīṃ rakhā hai.
I don't have any room kept booked for you.
The second is marked and contrastive: it rejects an assumed standing arrangement. नहीं can separate lexical कर- from vector रखा because its scope is the maintained result. Under ordinary neutral denial, the shorter first sentence is more natural.
A dialogue about preparation
मेहमान अचानक आ गए तो क्या करेंगे?
mehmān acānak ā gae to kyā kareṅge?
What will we do if the guests arrive unexpectedly?
चिंता मत करो, मैंने दो कमरे साफ़ कर रखे हैं और खाना भी बना रखा है।
cintā mat karo, maĩne do kamre sāf kar rakhe haiṃ aur khānā bhī banā rakhā hai.
Don't worry, I have two rooms cleaned and food prepared. (informal)
अच्छा, फिर चाय उनके आने पर बना लेंगे।
acchā, phir cāy unke āne par banā leṅge.
Good, then we'll make the tea when they arrive.
The answer uses कर रखे / बना रखा because those results already stand ready. The final बना लेंगे chooses लेना instead: making the tea is a future task the speakers will take care of at the appropriate time, not a presently maintained result.
Common Mistakes
1. Inflecting the lexical stem
❌ मैंने रात का खाना बनाया रखा है।
Incorrect — the lexical stem stays bare before vector रखना.
✅ मैंने रात का खाना बना रखा है।
maĩne rāt kā khānā banā rakhā hai.
I have dinner prepared and ready.
2. Ignoring agreement with the maintained object
❌ पूजा ने चाय बना रखा है।
Incorrect — feminine चाय controls रखी.
✅ पूजा ने चाय बना रखी है।
pūjā ne cāy banā rakhī hai.
Pooja has tea prepared.
3. Letting a को-marked object control agreement
❌ मैंने बच्चों को तैयार कर रखे हैं।
Incorrect — बच्चों को cannot control agreement; use default masculine singular.
✅ मैंने बच्चों को तैयार कर रखा है।
maĩne baccoṃ ko taiyār kar rakhā hai.
I have the children ready.
4. Copying English noun–verb order
❌ हमने कर सारी तैयारी रखी है।
Incorrect — the noun precedes light verb कर-, which then precedes vector रखना.
✅ हमने सारी तैयारी कर रखी है।
hamne sārī taiyārī kar rakhī hai.
We have made all the preparations.
5. Adding रखना where no maintainable result exists
❌ मैं यह मौसम जान रखा हूँ।
Incorrect — knowing the weather is not normally packaged as an intentionally maintained result.
✅ मैंने आज का मौसम-पूर्वानुमान देख रखा है।
maĩne āj kā mausam-pūrvānumān dekh rakhā hai.
I have checked today's weather forecast already.
Key Takeaways
- लिख रखा है / बना रखा है presents an earlier completed action through a result that remains available or deliberately maintained.
- Simple present perfect reports completion; vector रखना adds a standing arrangement or advance preparation.
- Bare-stem compounds coexist with transparent -कर + रखना sequences, and lexical convention affects which sounds natural.
- The final vector carries agreement; ने, object marking, and default agreement work normally.
- Lexical placement, maintained-state predicates, and action-result compounds are related but structurally distinct uses of रखना.
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Start learning Hindi →Related Topics
- Compound verbs: lexical stem plus vectorA2 — Build Hindi compound verbs from a bare lexical stem and an inflected vector that profiles completion, direction, affectedness, or attitude.
- लेना as self-directed or completive vectorA2 — Use vector लेना to present a result as secured for the agent, brought under control, or carried through to completion.
- देना as outward or other-directed vectorA2 — Use vector देना to present a result as released, made available, directed outward, or decisively brought about.
- Compound verbs under negationB1 — Choose between a simple negative verb and a retained vector by deciding whether the event itself or a salient result is being denied, feared, or prohibited.
- Vector selection and lexical compatibilityC1 — Choose Hindi vector verbs by event structure, participant orientation, discourse stance, and conventional lexical compatibility rather than by a substitution chart.
- रखना rakhnā: to keep and putA2 — Reference रखना across placement, possession, maintained states, perfective agreement, causative रखवाना, and resultative vector uses.