काम करना covers both “work” and “do work,” but the wider family is richer: किसी चीज़ पर काम करना “work on something,” काम पूरा करना “complete a task,” मशीन काम करना “a machine functions,” तरकीब काम कर जाना “a method proves effective,” काम आना “be useful,” and काम चलाना “make do.” English uses work across these meanings; Hindi changes the whole predicate.
This page treats the collocations as constructions with their usual complements. It leaves the full conjugation of करना to the verb pages and the general theory of conjunct predicates to noun plus करना predicates. Unless labeled otherwise, the expressions are neutral across spoken and written Hindi.
काम करना: activity and employment
Bare काम करना describes engaging in work. The person is the ordinary subject in imperfective clauses, so the participle agrees with that person. In a canonical perfective, the agent takes ने and masculine singular काम normally controls किया.
समीरा घर से काम करती है, लेकिन उसका भाई दफ़्तर जाता है।
samīrā ghar se kām kartī hai, lekin uskā bhāī daftar jātā hai.
Sameera works from home, but her brother goes to the office.
हमने आज बहुत काम किया, फिर भी रिपोर्ट पूरी नहीं हुई।
hamne āj bahut kām kiyā, phir bhī riporṭ pūrī nahīṃ huī.
We did a lot of work today, but the report still wasn't completed.
काम पर जाना means “go to work,” while काम से लौटना normally means “return from work.” In another context काम से can mean “for work/business,” so the predicate and situation disambiguate it.
मैं काम से लौटते समय सब्ज़ी ले आऊँगा।
maĩ kām se lauṭte samay sabzī le āū̃gā.
I'll pick up vegetables while returning from work. (male speaker)
The more formal कार्य करना appears in official, academic, or elevated writing (formal/academic). Saying मैं बैंक में कार्य करता हूँ is grammatical but more formal than conversational मैं बैंक में काम करता हूँ.
पर, में, के लिए, and के साथ define the work relation
The complement after work cannot be guessed from English alone. Use project/topic + पर काम करना for the object being developed; place/field + में काम करना for the workplace or domain; employer/cause + के लिए काम करना for whom one works; and person/team + के साथ काम करना for collaboration.
हम नई वेबसाइट पर काम कर रहे हैं।
ham naī vebsāiṭ par kām kar rahe haiṃ.
We're working on the new website.
मेरी बहन एक सरकारी अस्पताल में काम करती है।
merī bahan ek sarkārī aspatāl meṃ kām kartī hai.
My sister works in a government hospital.
मैंने तीन साल तक उस संस्था के लिए काम किया।
maĩne tīn sāl tak us saṃsthā ke lie kām kiyā.
I worked for that organization for three years.
इस परियोजना में हमें स्थानीय लोगों के साथ काम करना होगा।
is pariyojnā meṃ hameṃ sthānīya logoṃ ke sāth kām karnā hogā.
In this project, we'll have to work with local people.
These postpositions encode different relationships. संस्था पर काम करना would mean working on the organization as an object of analysis or reform, not being employed by it.
Doing someone's work and doing a job for someone
किसी का काम करना may mean “do someone's work/task,” and context can imply doing an errand or favor for that person. किसी के लिए काम करना instead normally means work for that person or organization. The difference between possessive का and beneficiary/employer के लिए matters.
मैं आज रीना का काम नहीं कर सकता; मेरा अपना काम बाक़ी है।
maĩ āj rīnā kā kām nahīṃ kar saktā; merā apnā kām bākī hai.
I can't do Reena's work today; I still have my own work left. (male speaker)
The phrase तुमसे एक काम है means “I have something to ask you to do” (informal). It often prefaces a request and does not mean employment.
तुमसे एक छोटा-सा काम है—क्या यह पैकेट रास्ते में दे दोगे?
tumse ek choṭā-sā kām hai—kyā yah paikeṭ rāste meṃ de doge?
I have a small favor to ask—could you drop off this package on the way? (informal)
Respectful आपसे एक काम था softens the approach by using the past tense, a common politeness strategy. The request is current; the past form creates distance.
Completing, getting through, and preparing work
The noun काम combines productively with result predicates. काम पूरा करना states completion; काम ख़त्म करना emphasizes bringing it to an end; काम निपटाना means dispose of or get through tasks and is somewhat brisk (conversational).
पहले यह काम पूरा कर लेते हैं, फिर चाय पिएँगे।
pahle yah kām pūrā kar lete haiṃ, phir cāy piẽge.
Let's finish this task first, then we'll have tea.
उसने दोपहर तक सारे छोटे काम निपटा दिए।
usne dopahar tak sāre choṭe kām nipṭā die.
She got all the small tasks out of the way by noon.
Vector choice adds viewpoint. काम कर लिया presents the task as secured or completed for the actor; काम कर दिया foregrounds a completed result, often for someone else; काम करके रखा है means it has been done in advance and kept ready.
मैंने टिकट बुक करने का काम पहले ही कर लिया है।
maĩne ṭikaṭ buk karne kā kām pahle hī kar liyā hai.
I've already taken care of booking the ticket.
मैंने कल की बैठक के लिए सारी तैयारी करके रखी है।
maĩne kal kī baiṭhak ke lie sārī taiyārī karke rakhī hai.
I've done all the preparation for tomorrow's meeting in advance.
The second sentence naturally uses feminine तैयारी rather than repeating काम. Collocational competence includes knowing when Hindi prefers a more specific event noun.
When “work” means function or succeed
Machines, software, plans, and medicines can काम करना: the meaning is “function/have an effect,” not perform employment. With an inanimate subject, the habitual or progressive verb agrees with that subject.
पुराना प्रिंटर फिर से काम नहीं कर रहा है।
purānā priṇṭar phir se kām nahīṃ kar rahā hai.
The old printer isn't working again.
यह दवा धीरे-धीरे काम करती है; असर होने में समय लगेगा।
yah davā dhīre-dhīre kām kartī hai; asar hone meṃ samay lagegā.
This medicine works gradually; it will take time to have an effect.
काम कर जाना adds successful, sometimes unexpectedly decisive effectiveness. It is common for a trick, plan, argument, or remedy that succeeds on a particular occasion.
आख़िर हमारी पुरानी तरकीब काम कर गई।
āxir hamārī purānī tarkīb kām kar gaī.
In the end, our old trick worked.
Feminine तरकीब controls गई. A plain habitual तरकीब काम करती है claims general effectiveness; perfective काम कर गई reports success in the event at hand.
Usefulness and sufficiency: काम आना and काम चलना
किसी के काम आना means “be useful to someone” or, of a person, “come to someone's aid.” The potential user appears with के because काम is construed as that person's need or use.
पुराना फ़ोन फेंकना मत; यात्रा में काम आ सकता है।
purānā fon pheṅknā mat; yātrā meṃ kām ā saktā hai.
Don't throw away the old phone; it may come in handy while traveling. (familiar)
मुश्किल समय में वही दोस्त मेरे काम आया।
muśkil samay meṃ vahī dost mere kām āyā.
That was the friend who came through for me in a difficult time.
इससे काम चल जाएगा means that something will suffice, even if it is not ideal. Transitive काम चलाना means to manage or make do with limited resources. Both usually imply adequacy, not excellence.
बड़ा कमरा नहीं मिला, लेकिन अभी इससे काम चल जाएगा।
baṛā kamrā nahīṃ milā, lekin abhī isse kām cal jāegā.
We didn't get a large room, but this will do for now.
बिजली जाने पर हम छोटे जनरेटर से काम चला लेते हैं।
bijlī jāne par ham choṭe janareṭar se kām calā lete haiṃ.
When the power goes out, we manage with a small generator.
A short workplace dialogue
रिपोर्ट पर कितना काम बाक़ी है?
riporṭ par kitnā kām bākī hai?
How much work is left on the report?
मुख्य हिस्सा पूरा हो गया है; बस आँकड़े जाँचने हैं।
mukhya hissā pūrā ho gayā hai; bas ā̃kaṛe jā̃cne haiṃ.
The main part is finished; we only have to check the figures.
ठीक है, वह काम आज निपटा दो और अंतिम फ़ाइल मुझे भेज देना।
ṭhīk hai, vah kām āj nipṭā do aur antim fāil mujhe bhej denā.
All right, get that done today and send me the final file. (familiar workplace speech)
Common Mistakes
1. Using में for the topic being developed
❌ हम नई योजना में काम कर रहे हैं।
Wrong for the intended meaning ‘working on the new plan’—में suggests a domain or project setting, not the object being developed.
✅ हम नई योजना पर काम कर रहे हैं।
ham naī yojnā par kām kar rahe haiṃ.
We're working on the new plan.
2. Using पर for an employer
❌ वह एक बैंक पर काम करती है।
Incorrect for employment—use बैंक में for the workplace or बैंक के लिए for the employer.
✅ वह एक बैंक में काम करती है।
vah ek baiṅk meṃ kām kartī hai.
She works at a bank.
3. Making perfective करना agree with the ने-marked worker
❌ सीमा ने बहुत काम की।
Incorrect—masculine singular काम controls perfective किया.
✅ सीमा ने आज बहुत काम किया।
sīmā ne āj bahut kām kiyā.
Seema did a lot of work today.
4. Using काम करना for every English use of “work”
❌ यह पुराना नक़्शा मेरे लिए काम करता है।
Unnatural for ‘is useful to me’—use the idiom मेरे काम आना.
✅ यह पुराना नक़्शा अभी भी मेरे काम आता है।
yah purānā naqśā abhī bhī mere kām ātā hai.
This old map is still useful to me.
5. Treating काम चल जाएगा as strong praise
❌ यह शानदार समाधान है—इससे काम चल जाएगा।
Pragmatically contradictory—काम चल जाएगा normally means merely sufficient, not excellent.
✅ यह आदर्श समाधान नहीं है, लेकिन अभी इससे काम चल जाएगा।
yah ādarś samādhān nahīṃ hai, lekin abhī isse kām cal jāegā.
It isn't an ideal solution, but it will do for now.
Key Takeaways
- पर काम करना targets a task, में locates a workplace or field, के लिए names an employer or beneficiary, and के साथ names collaborators.
- Perfective काम किया agrees with masculine काम, not with a ने-marked worker.
- कर लिया, कर दिया, and करके रखा add completion, affectedness, or advance preparation.
- Do not translate every English work with one phrase: distinguish functioning, successful effect, usefulness, and mere sufficiency.
Related Topics
- Noun plus करना predicatesB2 — Build Hindi conjunct predicates in which a noun supplies the event and करना carries tense, aspect, agreement, and agentive structure.
- Agreement in noun-verb predicatesB2 — Track Hindi agreement through conjunct predicates, from subject agreement in the imperfective to event-noun agreement in transitive perfectives.
- Perfective of करनाA2 — Use irregular किया, की, किए, and कीं in simple and auxiliary-bearing perfectives, with agreement determined by object marking.
- Transitive perfective with नेA2 — Mark the actor with ने in canonical transitive perfectives and choose verb agreement from the eligible object rather than the semantic doer.
- देना versus लेना as vector verbsB2 — Choose देना for an outwardly released result and लेना for a result secured around the agent, while respecting lexical convention and discourse stance.
- Postpositional phrase placementA2 — Place complete Hindi postpositional phrases before the predicate and move them as units to express frame, topic, focus, or afterthought.