देखना covers “see,” deliberate “look/watch,” and contextual “check.” It is a regular transitive verb with stem देख-, but its object frame matters: a specific animate object often takes को, while an unmarked object can control perfective agreement. Causative दिखाना means “show,” and compound देख लेना presents looking or checking as accomplished.
Principal parts and perception frames
| Category | Form | Illustration |
|---|---|---|
| stem | देख- | फ़िल्म देख- |
| infinitive | देखना | मैच देखना |
| habitual | देखता / देखती / देखते | वह देखती है |
| perfective | देखा / देखी / देखे / देखीं | उसने फ़िल्म देखी |
| conjunctive | देखकर | तस्वीर देखकर |
देखना takes a direct object without an English-style preposition: फ़िल्म देखना, सपना देखना, रास्ता देखना. With a specific person, को is normal: मैंने मोहन को देखा. The verb itself does not distinguish accidental seeing from deliberate watching as sharply as English does; context and the object supply that difference.
हम हर शुक्रवार साथ में कोई फ़िल्म देखते हैं।
ham har śukravār sāth meṃ koī film dekhte haiṃ.
We watch a movie together every Friday.
मैंने स्टेशन पर आपकी बहन को देखा।
maĩne sṭeśan par āpkī bahan ko dekhā.
I saw your sister at the station.
Habitual and progressive
| Subject | Habitual present | Progressive present |
|---|---|---|
| मैं, masculine | देखता हूँ | देख रहा हूँ |
| मैं, feminine | देखती हूँ | देख रही हूँ |
| वह, masculine | देखता है | देख रहा है |
| वह, feminine | देखती है | देख रही है |
| हम / आप / वे, masculine or mixed | देखते हैं | देख रहे हैं |
| हम / वे, all feminine | देखती हैं | देख रही हैं |
मैं अभी ट्रेन का समय देख रही हूँ।
maĩ abhī ṭren kā samay dekh rahī hū̃.
I'm checking the train time right now. (female speaker)
Here the context selects “check,” while रही हूँ supplies progressive aspect and present anchoring.
Perfective transitivity and object agreement
Canonical perfective देखना marks the perceiver with ने. An unmarked object controls देखा/देखी/देखे/देखीं; a को-marked object blocks agreement, leaving default masculine singular देखा.
अदिति ने नई प्रदर्शनी देखी।
aditi ne naī pradarśanī dekhī.
Aditi saw the new exhibition.
हमने रास्ते में कई पुराने किले देखे।
hamne rāste meṃ kaī purāne kile dekhe.
We saw several old forts on the way.
डॉक्टर ने दोनों बच्चों को देखा।
ḍokṭar ne donoṃ baccoṃ ko dekhā.
The doctor examined both children.
In the last example, को blocks plural agreement, so देखा is default. The medical context gives देखना the sense “examine.”
Perception complements
देखना can report perceiving an event. The perceived participant is often को-marked, followed by an agreeing or oblique participial expression.
मैंने बच्चों को मैदान में खेलते देखा।
maĩne baccoṃ ko maidān meṃ khelte dekhā.
I saw the children playing in the field.
उसने एक चिड़िया खिड़की से उड़ती देखी।
usne ek ciṛiyā khiṛkī se uṛtī dekhī.
They saw a bird flying out of the window.
The first has को-marked बच्चों को, so main देखा is default; खेलते relates to the children. In the second, unmarked feminine चिड़िया controls उड़ती देखी. This construction packages direct perception, not hearsay.
Future, subjunctive, and imperative
| Person | Subjunctive | Future masculine | Future feminine |
|---|---|---|---|
| मैं | देखूँ | देखूँगा | देखूँगी |
| तुम | देखो | देखोगे | देखोगी |
| वह / यह | देखे | देखेगा | देखेगी |
| हम / आप / वे / ये | देखें | देखेंगे | देखेंगी |
मैं पहले कमरा देखूँगी, फिर फैसला करूँगी।
maĩ pahle kamrā dekhū̃gī, phir faislā karū̃gī.
I'll see the room first, then decide. (female speaker)
Imperatives are intimate देख, familiar देखो, and respectful देखिए. Common non-finite forms are देखता, देखा, देखते हुए, देखकर, देखने, देखने वाला.
ज़रा देखिए कि दरवाज़ा बंद है या नहीं।
zarā dekhie ki darvāzā band hai yā nahīṃ.
Please check whether the door is closed.
Causative दिखाना and vector देख लेना
The lexicalized direct causative is दिखाना “show,” not देखाना. Its experiencer/recipient commonly takes को: मुझे तस्वीर दिखाइए.
तकनीशियन ने मुझे मशीन का नया फ़ीचर दिखाया।
taknīśiyan ne mujhe maśīn kā nayā fīcar dikhāyā.
The technician showed me the machine's new feature.
Compound देख लेना means look/check and finish doing so, often for one's own information or before a next step.
भेजने से पहले पता एक बार देख लो।
bhejne se pahle patā ek bār dekh lo.
Check the address once before sending it. (familiar)
It does not simply intensify देखना; vector लेना presents the result as secured. An idiomatic conversational use is देखते हैं “let's see / we'll see,” which can genuinely postpone a decision and may sound noncommittal.
Negation normally precedes the verb complex: मैंने फ़िल्म नहीं देखी. A yes–no question may add initial क्या without changing the internal order. In a service exchange, क्या आपने संदेश देखा? can mean “Have you seen/read the message?”, showing again that context selects the English equivalent.
क्या आपने सुबह का संदेश देखा?
kyā āpne subah kā sandeś dekhā?
Did you see the message from this morning?
See देखना versus दिखाना for the perception–causation contrast.
Common Mistakes
❌ मैंने उस तस्वीर को देखी।
Incorrect — को blocks feminine object agreement, so the verb defaults to देखा.
✅ मैंने उस तस्वीर को देखा।
maĩne us tasvīr ko dekhā.
I looked at that picture.
❌ रीना ने फ़िल्म देखा।
Incorrect — unmarked feminine फ़िल्म controls देखी.
✅ रीना ने फ़िल्म देखी।
rīnā ne film dekhī.
Reena watched the film.
❌ मुझे नक्शे पर देखो।
Incorrect for ‘look at the map’ — मुझे means ‘at me/to me,’ not ‘at.’
✅ नक्शा देखो।
nakśā dekho.
Look at the map. (familiar)
❌ कृपया यह फोटो देखाओ।
Incorrect for ‘show’ — the causative is दिखाना.
✅ कृपया यह फोटो दिखाइए।
kripyā yah foṭo dikhāie.
Please show this photo.
Key Takeaways
देखना is a regular transitive perception verb whose meaning ranges from seeing to watching and checking. Its perfective takes ने, with an unmarked object controlling agreement. Specific animate objects commonly take को and trigger default देखा. Learn दिखाना as the causative “show” and देख लेना as an actor-oriented completed look or check.
Now practice Hindi
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Hindi →Related Topics
- देखना versus दिखनाB1 — Choose देखना for a perceiver's act of seeing or looking and दिखना for something being visible or appearing a certain way.
- 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.
- Direct causatives in -ā-B2 — Form and use Hindi -ā- causatives for direct, closely controlled causation while tracking lexical stem changes and ordinary agreement.
- 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.
- को as differential object markerA2 — Understand how animacy, specificity, definiteness, affectedness, and verb meaning condition को on direct objects and reshape perfective agreement.
- Perfective object agreementA2 — Make a transitive perfective agree with an eligible unmarked direct object after ने, including gender-number and auxiliary-bearing forms.