मानना has a connected set of meanings: believe, accept as true, acknowledge, obey or heed, regard as, and concede. Its argument frame determines the English translation. The stem मान- plus infinitive -ना produces geminated मानना, romanized mānnā.
Stem and principal forms
| Category | Forms |
|---|---|
| infinitive | मानना |
| habitual | मानता / मानती / मानते |
| progressive | मान रहा / मान रही / मान रहे |
| perfective | माना / मानी / माने / मानीं |
| conjunctive | मानकर |
| simultaneous participle | मानते हुए |
| prospective | मानने वाला / मानने वाली / मानने वाले |
मैं आपकी बात मानता हूँ।
maĩ āpkī bāt māntā hū̃.
I accept your point / I do what you say. (male speaker)
वह अब भी मान रही है कि निर्णय सही था।
vah ab bhī mān rahī hai ki nirṇay sahī thā.
She still believes that the decision was right.
Progressive मान रही है can emphasize a belief being maintained despite contrary evidence. Simple मानती है is the neutral stable-belief form.
Believing and accepting content
A कि clause states a proposition believed or accepted; the कि-complement guide explains the clause boundary in detail. A noun object can be a fact, claim, rule, request, or advice. बात मानना often means heed or obey what someone says rather than merely believe the words exist.
विशेषज्ञ मानते हैं कि यह बदलाव ज़रूरी है।
viśeṣagya mānte haiṃ ki yah badlāv zarūrī hai.
Experts believe that this change is necessary.
बच्चे ने आख़िर अपनी माँ की बात मानी।
bacce ne āxir apnī mā̃ kī bāt mānī.
The child finally listened to his mother.
Feminine बात controls मानी in the perfective. The possessor माँ की identifies whose instruction was heeded.
Object complements: regard X as Y
The frame X-को + Y + मानना means regard, recognize, or accept X as Y. The classified entity takes को; the role or property Y is unmarked.
कंपनी इस समझौते को अंतिम मानती है।
kampanī is samjhaute ko antim māntī hai.
The company considers this agreement final.
सब लोग सीमा को अपना नेता मानते हैं।
sab log sīmā ko apnā netā mānte haiṃ.
Everyone regards Seema as their leader.
The result complement does not take an equivalent of English “as.” Since X bears को, perfective agreement is blocked: उन्होंने सीमा को नेता माना.
Accepting defeat, rules, and authority
Frequent collocations include हार मानना concede defeat/give up, गलती मानना admit a mistake, कानून मानना obey the law, and ईश्वर को मानना believe in/revere God. These are related but not freely interchangeable senses.
बहस लंबी चली, पर किसी ने हार नहीं मानी।
bahas lambī calī, par kisī ne hār nahīṃ mānī.
The argument went on for a long time, but no one admitted defeat.
Feminine हार selects मानी. In ईश्वर को मानना, को marks the object of belief/reverence and blocks agreement in a perfective.
Perfective transitivity
मानना is transitive. A perfective believer or accepter takes ने. An unmarked noun object can control agreement; a को-marked object or clausal content yields default माना.
समिति ने अपनी पुरानी गलती मानी।
samiti ne apnī purānī galtī mānī.
The committee acknowledged its earlier mistake.
मैंने उसे निर्दोष माना।
maĩne use nirdoṣ mānā.
I considered him/her innocent.
The second object is embedded in उसे and cannot control agreement; निर्दोष is a complement, not an agreement controller.
Future and subjunctive
| Person | Subjunctive | Future masculine | Future feminine |
|---|---|---|---|
| मैं | मानूँ | मानूँगा | मानूँगी |
| तुम | मानो | मानोगे | मानोगी |
| यह / वह | माने | मानेगा | मानेगी |
| हम / आप / ये / वे | मानें | मानेंगे | मानेंगी |
सबूत स्पष्ट होगा तो मैं आपकी बात मानूँगा।
sabūt spaṣṭ hogā to maĩ āpkī bāt mānū̃gā.
If the evidence is clear, I'll accept your claim. (male speaker)
ज़रूरी है कि सभी खिलाड़ी नियम मानें।
zarūrī hai ki sabhī khilāṛī niyam māneṃ.
It is essential that all players follow the rules.
Imperatives and participles
The imperatives are intimate मान, familiar मानो, and respectful मानिए. मान लीजिए is especially common for “suppose” in explanations and arguments.
मान लीजिए कि ट्रेन एक घंटा देर से आती है।
mān lījie ki ṭren ek ghaṇṭā der se ātī hai.
Suppose that the train arrives an hour late.
Participles include मानकर, मानते हुए, माना हुआ, and मानने वाला.
उसे अनुभवी मानकर हमने सलाह माँगी।
use anubhavī mānkar hamne salāh mā̃gī.
Considering him/her experienced, we asked for advice.
मान लेना, मान जाना, and causatives
मान लेना means accept, concede, or assume for the sake of argument; it profiles a settled mental result. मान जाना means become convinced, yield, or be impressed, with जाना carrying intransitive-like final agreement.
आख़िर उसने अपनी गलती मान ली।
āxir usne apnī galtī mān lī.
In the end, she admitted her mistake.
इतनी साफ़ दलील सुनकर मैं मान गया।
itnī sāf dalīl sunkar maĩ mān gayā.
After hearing such a clear argument, I was convinced. (male speaker)
Direct causative मनाना means persuade or win someone over, though it also independently means celebrate. मनवाना means get something accepted, enforce compliance, or have someone persuaded.
उसने परिवार को नई योजना अपनाने के लिए मना लिया।
usne parivār ko naī yojnā apnāne ke lie manā liyā.
She persuaded the family to adopt the new plan.
The causative family is partly lexicalized; the short vowel in मनाना must be learned, not generated casually from spelling.
An idiom लोहा मानना means acknowledge someone's ability or superiority.
Common Mistakes
❌ मैं मानता हूँ उसे अच्छा नेता।
Incorrect neutral object-complement order.
✅ मैं उसे अच्छा नेता मानता हूँ।
maĩ use acchā netā māntā hū̃.
I consider him a good leader. (male speaker)
❌ उसने अपनी गलती माना।
Incorrect — unmarked feminine गलती controls मानी.
✅ उसने अपनी गलती मानी।
usne apnī galtī mānī.
He/She admitted the mistake.
❌ वे उसे दोषी माने।
Incorrect in a perfective clause — add ने; उसे blocks agreement, leaving default माना.
✅ उन्होंने उसे दोषी माना।
unhoṃne use doṣī mānā.
They considered him/her guilty.
❌ माँ ने बच्चे की बात मनाई।
Incorrect for accepting the child's point — मनाना means persuade/celebrate; use मानना.
✅ माँ ने बच्चे की बात मानी।
mā̃ ne bacce kī bāt mānī.
The mother accepted what the child said.
Key Takeaways
मानना links belief, acceptance, obedience, and classification through its complement frames. It is transitive, with ने and possible object agreement in perfectives. Geminated mānnā contrasts with causative मनाना; मान लेना settles an assumption or concession, while मान जाना profiles becoming convinced.
Related Topics
- सोचना socnā: to thinkB1 — Reference सोचना with कि clauses, topics, plans, transitive perfectives, सोच लेना, and the formal contrast with विचार करना.
- समझना samajhnā: to understand and considerA2 — Reference समझना across understanding, interpreting, and considering, with object complements, perfective agreement, and समझ लेना.
- Complement clauses with किB2 — Use कि to embed a finite proposition as the content of speech, thought, knowledge, perception, evaluation, or desire while preserving local syntax.
- Perfective object agreementA2 — Make a transitive perfective agree with an eligible unmarked direct object after ने, including gender-number and auxiliary-bearing forms.
- 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.
- Lexical irregular causativesC1 — Master high-frequency Hindi causatives whose stems change unpredictably, including खिलाना, पिलाना, सुलाना, बिठाना, दिखाना, and सिखाना.