ले जाना combines the fixed form ले from लेना “take” with inflected जाना “go.” Together they mean to take, carry, or lead a person or thing away from the speaker’s current deictic center or onward to another place. English packages possession and direction into “take”; Hindi makes the outward motion visible in the two-part predicate.
One lexical unit, two written words
In ordinary ले जाना, ले remains unchanged and जाना carries tense, aspect, person, gender, number, and politeness. Treat the combination as one predicate even though Devanagari writes the parts separately.
| Category | Forms |
|---|---|
| infinitive | ले जाना |
| habitual | ले जाता / ले जाती / ले जाते |
| progressive | ले जा रहा / ले जा रही / ले जा रहे |
| perfective | ले गया / ले गई / ले गए / ले गईं |
| conjunctive | ले जाकर |
| simultaneous participle | ले जाते हुए |
| prospective | ले जाने वाला / ले जाने वाली / ले जाने वाले |
वह रोज़ अपना खाना दफ़्तर ले जाती है।
vah roz apnā khānā daftar le jātī hai.
She takes her lunch to the office every day.
नर्स मरीज़ को जाँच के लिए अंदर ले जा रही है।
nars marīz ko jā̃c ke lie andar le jā rahī hai.
The nurse is taking the patient inside for an examination.
Do not conjugate ले independently inside this construction. Forms such as लिया जाता है belong to the passive of लेना, “is taken,” not to the directional compound “takes away/goes carrying.”
Deictic direction: ले जाना versus ले आना
Use ले जाना when the carried theme moves away from “here” or toward a destination viewed as “there.” Use ले आना when it moves toward the speaker’s or discourse center: “bring.” The relevant center can shift in a narrative, so the choice is perspectival rather than a property of the object.
The inward member of the contrast is covered separately in ले आना “to bring”.
ये फ़ाइलें बैठक में ले जाना, लेकिन हस्ताक्षर के बाद वापस ले आना।
ye fāileṃ baiṭhak meṃ le jānā, lekin hastākṣar ke bād vāpas le ānā.
Take these files to the meeting, but bring them back after they are signed. (familiar)
जब तुम दिल्ली जाओ, मेरे लिए यह पैकेट ले जाना।
jab tum dillī jāo, mere lie yah paikeṭ le jānā.
When you go to Delhi, take this package for me. (familiar)
English “take” also means accept, consume, or require time. Those meanings do not automatically use ले जाना: “take medicine” is दवा लेना, and “it takes an hour” is एक घंटा लगता है. ले जाना requires literal or metaphorical motion along a path.
Arguments: carrier, theme, and destination
The subject is the person or force that moves while carrying or leading a theme. An inanimate theme is commonly unmarked; a specific human or animate theme normally takes को. A destination may be a bare directional expression such as घर, an adverb such as बाहर, or a postpositional phrase such as स्टेशन तक.
क्या आप मुझे मुख्य गेट तक ले जा सकते हैं?
kyā āp mujhe mukhya geṭ tak le jā sakte haiṃ?
Could you take me as far as the main gate?
तेज़ हवा काग़ज़ों को सड़क के उस पार ले गई।
tez havā kāġazoṃ ko saṛak ke us pār le gaī.
The strong wind carried the papers to the other side of the road.
The second example shows that the carrier need not be intentional. The semantic core is caused accompaniment in outward motion: the wind goes conceptually along the path while carrying the papers.
Perfective agreement and the absence of ने
Although ले जाना has a theme and translates an English transitive verb, the final verb जाना determines its basic perfective alignment. The subject normally remains unmarked, takes no ने, and controls agreement: रीना बैग ले गई, लड़के सामान ले गए. The theme does not control गया/गई/गए.
अमन गलती से मेरी छतरी घर ले गया।
aman galtī se merī chatrī ghar le gayā.
Aman accidentally took my umbrella home.
This pattern differs from simple perfective लेना: अमन ने मेरी छतरी ली “Aman took my umbrella” has ने because लेना is transitive. The contrast is a reminder that Hindi compound predicates inherit crucial syntax from their final verb.
Habitual, progressive, and perfective paradigms
| Subject | Habitual present | Progressive present | Perfective |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine singular | ले जाता है | ले जा रहा है | ले गया |
| feminine singular | ले जाती है | ले जा रही है | ले गई |
| masculine/mixed plural | ले जाते हैं | ले जा रहे हैं | ले गए |
| feminine plural | ले जाती हैं | ले जा रही हैं | ले गईं |
The habitual may describe a routine or characteristic transport. The progressive locates the carrier and theme in an ongoing journey. The perfective profiles departure or successful delivery away from the reference point.
Future, subjunctive, and imperative
| Person | Subjunctive | Future masculine | Future feminine |
|---|---|---|---|
| मैं | ले जाऊँ | ले जाऊँगा | ले जाऊँगी |
| तुम | ले जाओ | ले जाओगे | ले जाओगी |
| यह / वह | ले जाए | ले जाएगा | ले जाएगी |
| हम / आप / ये / वे | ले जाएँ | ले जाएँगे | ले जाएँगी |
Imperatives are intimate ले जा, familiar ले जाओ, and respectful ले जाइए. The infinitive ले जाना can also function as a familiar reminder or instruction, usually with a softer prospective flavor than a bare command.
कृपया जाते समय ये खाली डिब्बे भी ले जाइए।
kripyā jāte samay ye khālī ḍibbe bhī le jāie.
Please take these empty containers with you when you leave.
मैं बच्चों को संग्रहालय ले जाऊँगा।
maĩ baccoṃ ko saṅgrahālay le jāū̃gā.
I'll take the children to the museum. (male speaker)
Participles, extension, and metaphor
The oblique infinitive supports purpose and permission constructions: ले जाने के लिए, ले जाने देना, ले जाने को कहना. ले जाते हुए presents the outward journey as simultaneous with another event, and ले जाकर presents it as completed before the next action.
वे घायल यात्री को अस्पताल ले जाकर लौट आए।
ve ghāyal yātrī ko aspatāl le jākar lauṭ āe.
They took the injured traveler to the hospital and came back.
Natural extensions keep the path meaning. साथ ले जाना means take along; बहा ले जाना means sweep or wash away; उड़ा ले जाना means carry away through the air or, colloquially, snatch away. Abstract subjects can move a discussion, career, or story in a direction.
एक छोटा-सा सवाल बातचीत को बिल्कुल नई दिशा में ले गया।
ek choṭā-sā savāl bātcīt ko bilkul naī diśā meṃ le gayā.
One small question took the conversation in a completely new direction.
There is no regular causative ले जावाना. To arrange transport, use contextually appropriate भेजना “send,” भिजवाना “have sent,” or an analytic expression such as किसी से ले जाने को कहना.
Common Mistakes
❌ रीना ने मेरा बैग ले गई।
Incorrect — perfective ले जाना normally has no ने and agrees with the carrier.
✅ रीना मेरा बैग ले गई।
rīnā merā baig le gaī.
Reena took my bag away.
❌ यह किताब घर ले आओ।
Incorrect for an outward instruction — ले आओ means ‘bring it here.’
✅ यह किताब घर ले जाओ।
yah kitāb ghar le jāo.
Take this book home. (familiar)
❌ वह बच्चों को पार्क लिया गया।
Incorrect — लिया गया is a passive of लेना, not the perfective of ले जाना.
✅ वह बच्चों को पार्क ले गया।
vah baccoṃ ko pārk le gayā.
He took the children to the park.
❌ कृपया आप इसे अपने साथ ले जाओ।
Incorrect — honorific आप requires the respectful imperative ले जाइए, not familiar ले जाओ.
✅ कृपया आप इसे अपने साथ ले जाइए।
kripyā āp ise apne sāth le jāie.
Please take this with you. (respectful)
Key Takeaways
ले जाना is an outward-motion predicate whose first element ले remains fixed and whose final जाना bears all inflection. Its perfective normally has no ने and agrees with the carrier. Human themes commonly take को, destinations use ordinary directional phrases, and the contrast with ले आना depends on movement away from versus toward the active deictic center.
Related Topics
- जाना jānā: to goA1 — Reference जाना as a motion verb, its suppletive perfective गया, its future and imperative forms, and its passive and vector uses.
- लेना lenā: to takeA1 — Reference लेना as a transitive verb and actor-oriented vector, including irregular लिया, future लूँगा, and respectful लीजिए.
- ले आना le ānā: to bringA2 — Reference ले आना as a speakerward directional compound, with आना-based inflection, argument patterns, and the contrast with ले जाना.
- जाना as completion separation or passive vectorA2 — Distinguish bare-stem plus जाना compounds of completion and separation from participle plus जाना passive predicates.
- Intransitive perfective agreementA2 — Make ordinary intransitive perfectives agree with their unmarked subject while recognizing agentive exceptions and experiencer structures.
- तक for endpoints and limitsA2 — Use तक for spatial destinations, deadlines, ranges, measurable limits, and the lexicalized expression यहाँ तक कि.