English makes I the grammatical subject of “I am hungry,” “I am thirsty,” “I am sleepy,” and “I am in a hurry.” Everyday Hindi does not force those four experiences into one mold. It normally uses मुझे भूख लगी है, मुझे प्यास लगी है, मुझे नींद आ रही है, and मुझे जल्दी है—four small constructions whose nouns and predicates must be learned together.
All unmarked expressions on this page are neutral in everyday conversation. More intimate or more respectful speech changes the pronoun and sometimes the imperative, but not the underlying experiencer pattern. The broader syntax is explained under dative experiencer subjects.
The central pattern: experiencer को + sensation
In मुझे भूख लगी है, मुझे is the oblique form of मैं plus को. The person is presented as the experiencer to whom a sensation has arisen, not as an English-style subject possessing a property. With an ordinary noun, को remains visible: रीना को, बच्चों को, मेहमानों को.
मुझे बहुत भूख लगी है; पहले कुछ खा लेते हैं।
mujhe bahut bhūkh lagī hai; pahle kuch khā lete haiṃ.
I'm very hungry; let's eat something first. (neutral conversational)
बच्चों को रास्ते में प्यास लग सकती है, इसलिए पानी रख लो।
baccoṃ ko rāste meṃ pyās lag saktī hai, islie pānī rakh lo.
The children may get thirsty on the way, so take some water. (familiar advice)
The inflected verb agrees with the sensation noun. भूख and प्यास are feminine singular, so one says भूख लगी, प्यास लगती, and प्यास लग सकती है, regardless of whether the experiencer is male, female, singular, or plural.
उन्हें सुबह जल्दी भूख नहीं लगती।
unheṃ subah jaldī bhūkh nahīṃ lagtī.
They don't get hungry early in the morning. (respectful or plural)
लगी है, लग रही है, and लगती है
These aspect choices are productive within the fixed frame. लगी है commonly reports a present resulting state: hunger or thirst has set in and is now felt. लग रही है views the sensation as currently developing or continuing. लगती है describes a recurring tendency.
नाश्ता नहीं किया था, इसलिए अब भूख लगी है।
nāśtā nahīṃ kiyā thā, islie ab bhūkh lagī hai.
I didn't have breakfast, so now I'm hungry.
इतना नमकीन खाने के बाद मुझे प्यास लग रही है।
itnā namkīn khāne ke bād mujhe pyās lag rahī hai.
After eating something so salty, I'm getting thirsty.
English “be hungry” does not reveal this aspectual contrast. Hindi lets the speaker construe the sensation as an attained state, an unfolding experience, or a habit. In a context where only the present condition matters, लगी है and लग रही है can overlap; the difference is viewpoint, not the objective strength of the hunger.
Adjectival भूखा/भूखी हूँ and प्यासा/प्यासी हूँ are also normal. They agree directly with the speaker and often sound more descriptive or emphatic, as in being hungry after a fast or thirsty after a long walk. They do not take को.
मैं सुबह से भूखी हूँ, लेकिन बैठक अभी तक ख़त्म नहीं हुई।
maĩ subah se bhūkhī hū̃, lekin baiṭhak abhī tak xatm nahīṃ huī.
I've been hungry since morning, but the meeting still hasn't ended. (female speaker)
Hunger is satisfied; thirst is quenched
Hindi pairs the two sensations with different established predicates. भूख मिटना means that hunger subsides; transitive भूख मिटाना means to satisfy it. प्यास बुझना/बुझाना uses the image of a flame being extinguished. These combinations are conventional: exchanging their verbs is understandable but not idiomatic neutral Hindi.
सिर्फ़ चाय से मेरी भूख नहीं मिटेगी।
sirf cāy se merī bhūkh nahīṃ miṭegī.
Tea alone won't satisfy my hunger.
इतनी गर्मी में ठंडा पानी ही प्यास बुझाता है।
itnī garmī meṃ ṭhaṇḍā pānī hī pyās bujhātā hai.
In this heat, only cold water really quenches your thirst.
The literal image survives most clearly in प्यास बुझाना, but its meaning is fully idiomatic; no actual fire is implied. भूख शांत करना and प्यास शांत करना occur in more elevated or promotional writing (formal/literary), while daily speech strongly favors भूख मिटाना and प्यास बुझाना.
Sleepiness comes; sleep opens
Sleepiness normally uses किसी को नींद आना. Feminine नींद controls आ रही है, आई, आती है. The construction refers to the onset or presence of sleepiness; सोना describes the act of sleeping.
मुझे अब नींद आ रही है; बाक़ी काम कल करूँगा।
mujhe ab nīnd ā rahī hai; bākī kām kal karū̃gā.
I'm sleepy now; I'll do the rest of the work tomorrow. (male speaker)
ट्रेन में ऐसी नींद आई कि मेरा स्टेशन निकल गया।
ṭren meṃ aisī nīnd āī ki merā sṭeśan nikal gayā.
I got so sleepy on the train that I missed my station.
To say that someone woke up without emphasizing an intentional action, Hindi uses नींद खुलना, literally “sleep opens.” For waking someone, use transitive जगाना; for deliberately waking or remaining awake, use जागना.
सुबह पाँच बजे मेरी नींद अपने आप खुल गई।
subah pā̃c baje merī nīnd apne āp khul gaī.
I woke up on my own at five in the morning.
Hurry has two different grammars
मुझे जल्दी है means “I am in a hurry” or “I need to leave soon.” Here जल्दी is a noun-like predicate with होना; it does not agree for the experiencer's gender. जल्दी करो/कीजिए is a request to hurry, with familiar करो or respectful कीजिए. Adverbial जल्दी simply means “early” or “quickly,” so context decides which meaning is active.
मुझे थोड़ी जल्दी है; मेरी बस दस मिनट में है।
mujhe thoṛī jaldī hai; merī bas das minaṭ meṃ hai.
I'm in a bit of a hurry; my bus is in ten minutes.
जल्दी कीजिए, नहीं तो दुकान बंद हो जाएगी।
jaldī kījie, nahīṃ to dukān band ho jāegī.
Please hurry, or the shop will close. (respectful)
जल्दबाज़ी करना means to act rashly or in excessive haste and usually carries criticism. Neutral जल्दी करना merely asks for speed. Informal हड़बड़ी करना likewise suggests flustered, poorly controlled haste.
जल्दबाज़ी में फ़ैसला मत करना; शर्तें पहले पढ़ लो।
jaldabāzī meṃ faislā mat karnā; śarteṃ pahle paṛh lo.
Don't decide in haste; read the terms first. (familiar advice)
A short dialogue
तुम्हें भूख लगी है या पहले होटल चलें?
tumheṃ bhūkh lagī hai yā pahle hoṭal caleṃ?
Are you hungry, or shall we go to the hotel first? (informal)
थोड़ी भूख लगी है, पर मुझे ज़्यादा प्यास लगी है।
thoṛī bhūkh lagī hai, par mujhe zyādā pyās lagī hai.
I'm a little hungry, but I'm much thirstier.
ठीक है, जल्दी से पानी लेते हैं; फिर आराम से खाना खाएँगे।
ṭhīk hai, jaldī se pānī lete haiṃ; phir ārām se khānā khāẽge.
All right, let's quickly get some water; then we'll eat without rushing.
Notice the contrast between adverbial जल्दी से “quickly” and जल्दबाज़ी में “rashly/in haste.” Speed itself need not imply poor judgment.
Common Mistakes
1. Copying English subject grammar
❌ मैं भूख हूँ।
Incorrect—भूख लगना takes a को-marked experiencer; भूख is not a predicate meaning ‘hungry.’
✅ मुझे भूख लगी है।
mujhe bhūkh lagī hai.
I'm hungry.
2. Making लगना agree with the experiencer
❌ अमित को भूख लगा है।
Incorrect—feminine भूख controls लगी, not masculine अमित.
✅ अमित को बहुत भूख लगी है।
amit ko bahut bhūkh lagī hai.
Amit is very hungry.
3. Translating “sleepy” with होना
❌ मुझे नींद हूँ।
Incorrect—sleepiness is expressed with किसी को नींद आना.
✅ मुझे बहुत नींद आ रही है।
mujhe bahut nīnd ā rahī hai.
I'm very sleepy.
4. Using जल्दबाज़ी as a neutral request for speed
❌ ज़रा जल्दबाज़ी कीजिए।
Wrong collocation for a polite neutral request—जल्दबाज़ी suggests rash or careless haste.
✅ ज़रा जल्दी कीजिए।
zarā jaldī kījie.
Please hurry a little. (respectful)
Key Takeaways
- Learn मुझे भूख/प्यास लगी है, मुझे नींद आ रही है, and मुझे जल्दी है as separate predicate frames.
- In sensation constructions, भूख, प्यास, or नींद controls agreement; the experiencer remains को-marked.
- Hunger मिटती है, thirst बुझती है, sleepiness आती है, and sleep खुलती है when someone wakes.
- जल्दी करना asks for speed; जल्दबाज़ी करना criticizes excessive or careless haste.
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