खेलना means “play” when people or animals engage in a game, sport, or playful activity. Hindi normally puts the name of a game directly before the verb—क्रिकेट खेलना, not a prepositional equivalent of English play at cricket. English play also covers instruments, recordings, dramatic roles, and tricks; those meanings require other Hindi predicates.
Principal forms
The regular stem is खेल-. Its imperfective forms agree with the subject, while perfective agreement depends on whether the event is construed without an object or with an unmarked game object.
| Category | Forms |
|---|---|
| infinitive | खेलना |
| habitual | खेलता / खेलती / खेलते |
| progressive | खेल रहा / रही / रहे |
| perfective | खेला / खेली / खेले |
| conjunctive | खेलकर / खेल के |
| prospective | खेलने वाला / वाली / वाले |
बच्चे बारिश रुकते ही बाहर खेलने लगे।
bacce bāriś rukte hī bāhar khelne lage.
As soon as the rain stopped, the children started playing outside.
अनाया हर रविवार अपने दोस्तों के साथ बैडमिंटन खेलती है।
anāyā har ravivār apne dostoṃ ke sāth baiḍmiṇṭan kheltī hai.
Anaya plays badminton with her friends every Sunday.
Games are direct objects
A named game or sport is normally an unmarked direct object: फ़ुटबॉल खेलना, हॉकी खेलना, ताश खेलना, शतरंज खेलना. Do not insert को, में, or से merely because English uses play at, play in, or play with in a similar sentence. A partner takes के साथ, an opponent can take के ख़िलाफ़, and a team or competition may be located with में.
हमने ट्रेन में दो घंटे ताश खेला।
hamne ṭren meṃ do ghaṇṭe tāś khelā.
We played cards for two hours on the train.
भारत कल ऑस्ट्रेलिया के ख़िलाफ़ हॉकी खेलेगा।
bhārat kal osṭreliyā ke xilāf hokī khelegā.
India will play hockey against Australia tomorrow.
क्या तुम मेरे साथ शतरंज खेलोगी?
kyā tum mere sāth śatrañj khelogī?
Will you play chess with me? (addressing a female)
The participant being played against is not normally a direct human object of खेलना. रवि को खेलना means “Ravi has to play” only in a dative construction; it does not mean “play Ravi.” For “play against Ravi,” use रवि के ख़िलाफ़ खेलना.
Perfective construal and agreement
With an expressed unmarked game object, perfective खेलना follows the ordinary transitive pattern: the agent takes ने, and the verb agrees with that object. Thus masculine क्रिकेट and ताश give खेला, while feminine हॉकी and शतरंज give खेली.
This is the same alignment described in perfective object agreement, but खेलना makes the pattern especially visible because familiar game names have different grammatical genders.
रिया ने आज शानदार हॉकी खेली।
riyā ne āj śānadār hokī khelī.
Riya played excellent hockey today.
दोनों खिलाड़ियों ने आख़िरी बाज़ी बहुत सोच-समझकर खेली।
donoṃ khilāṛiyoṃ ne āxirī bāzī bahut soc-samajhkar khelī.
Both players played the final round very thoughtfully.
When no game object is expressed, modern usage permits two construals. बच्चे खूब खेले treats free play as an intransitive activity and agrees with the subject. बच्चों ने खूब खेला presents it agentively, often with an understood game or performance. The difference is not a simple grammatical-versus-ungrammatical split, and usage varies by context and speaker.
छुट्टी के दिन बच्चे सुबह से शाम तक खेले।
chuṭṭī ke din bacce subah se śām tak khele.
On the holiday, the children played from morning until evening.
आज बच्चों ने खूब खेला, इसलिए वे जल्दी सो गए।
āj baccoṃ ne khūb khelā, islie ve jaldī so gae.
The children played a lot today, so they went to sleep early.
Progressive, habitual, future, and subjunctive
The habitual presents a regular activity, skill, or customary role. The progressive locates an actual game or play session in progress. Unlike English, Hindi does not normally use the progressive merely for a stable ability such as “She plays tennis well”; the habitual is natural there.
ज़ोया टेनिस बहुत अच्छा खेलती है, लेकिन आज वह नहीं खेल रही।
zoyā ṭenis bahut acchā kheltī hai, lekin āj vah nahīṃ khel rahī.
Zoya plays tennis very well, but she isn’t playing today.
| Person | Subjunctive | Future masculine | Future feminine |
|---|---|---|---|
| मैं | खेलूँ | खेलूँगा | खेलूँगी |
| तुम | खेलो | खेलोगे | खेलोगी |
| यह / वह | खेले | खेलेगा | खेलेगी |
| हम / आप / ये / वे | खेलें | खेलेंगे | खेलेंगी |
कोच चाहता है कि हर खिलाड़ी कम से कम एक मैच खेले।
koc cāhtā hai ki har khilāṛī kam se kam ek maic khele.
The coach wants every player to play at least one match.
The imperative series is intimate खेल, familiar खेलो, and respectful खेलिए. खेलें is a respectful third-person jussive or inclusive suggestion according to context.
पहले नियम समझ लो, फिर खेलो।
pahle niyam samajh lo, phir khelo.
Understand the rules first, then play.
Participles, compounds, and causatives
Common participles include खेलते हुए “while playing,” खेलकर “after/by playing,” खेला हुआ “played,” and खेलने वाला “one who plays / about to play.” With a named game, a passive participle can agree with it: खेली गई बाज़ी “the round that was played.”
मैदान में खेलते हुए उसका चश्मा टूट गया।
maidān meṃ khelte hue uskā caśmā ṭūṭ gayā.
His/Her glasses broke while he/she was playing on the field.
खेल लेना can present a game as fitting in or being completed before another event. खेलते रहना expresses continuation. Ability and achieved opportunity take खेल सकना and खेल पाना respectively.
बारिश आने से पहले एक सेट खेल लें।
bāriś āne se pahle ek seṭ khel leṃ.
Let’s play one set before the rain comes.
The direct causative खिलाना means make or let someone play; independently, the same form also means “feed,” so the object and context disambiguate it. खिलवाना means arrange for someone to play or have another person make/let someone play. In sports, किसी खिलाड़ी को खिलाना means field or select that player.
कोच ने नए गोलकीपर को दूसरे हाफ़ में खिलाया।
koc ne nae golkīpar ko dūsre hāf meṃ khilāyā.
The coach fielded the new goalkeeper in the second half.
स्कूल ने बच्चों को अनुभवी प्रशिक्षक से क्रिकेट खिलवाया।
skūl ne baccoṃ ko anubhavī praśikṣak se krikeṭ khilvāyā.
The school arranged for an experienced coach to have the children play cricket.
English play is broader
Hindi uses बजाना for an instrument or audio, भूमिका निभाना for playing a role, रिकॉर्डिंग चलाना for playing a recording, and चाल चलना for making a move or playing a trick. Calling all of these खेलना is direct transfer from English.
मीरा गिटार बजाती है और उसका भाई क्रिकेट खेलता है।
mīrā giṭār bajātī hai aur uskā bhāī krikeṭ kheltā hai.
Meera plays the guitar, and her brother plays cricket.
The idiom जान पर खेलना means risk one’s life. Here खेलना no longer denotes a recreational game; it presents life itself as the stake.
दमकलकर्मियों ने जान पर खेलकर तीन लोगों को बचाया।
damkalakarmiyoṃ ne jān par khelkar tīn logoṃ ko bacāyā.
The firefighters risked their lives to save three people.
Common Mistakes
❌ हम रविवार को क्रिकेट में खेलते हैं।
Incorrect for the game itself — क्रिकेट is a direct object, not a में phrase.
✅ हम रविवार को क्रिकेट खेलते हैं।
ham ravivār ko krikeṭ khelte haiṃ.
We play cricket on Sundays.
❌ रीना ने शतरंज खेला।
Incorrect agreement in standard usage — feminine शतरंज gives खेली.
✅ रीना ने शतरंज खेली।
rīnā ne śatrañj khelī.
Reena played chess.
❌ आरव पियानो खेलता है।
Incorrect English transfer — instruments take बजाना.
✅ आरव पियानो बजाता है।
ārav piyāno bajātā hai.
Aarav plays the piano.
❌ टीम ने दिल्ली को खेला।
Incorrect marking for an opponent — use के ख़िलाफ़.
✅ टीम ने दिल्ली के ख़िलाफ़ शानदार मैच खेला।
ṭīm ne dillī ke xilāf śānadār maic khelā.
The team played a great match against Delhi.
Key Takeaways
खेलना is regular, but its argument structure deserves care. Game names are unmarked direct objects; partners take के साथ and opponents के ख़िलाफ़. In the perfective, an expressed game object can control agreement after a ने-marked agent. Objectless play allows both intransitive subject agreement and an agentive ने construction, depending on construal. Causatives, compounds, and English’s wider uses of play must be learned separately.
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