पूछना means ask, inquire, or ask about. Its most important frame differs from English: the person questioned is marked with से, while the question or requested information is the content object. Hindi therefore says उससे सवाल पूछना, literally “ask a question from him.”
Stem and principal forms
The stem is पूछ-, with long ऊ and aspirated छ.
| Category | Forms |
|---|---|
| infinitive | पूछना |
| habitual | पूछता / पूछती / पूछते |
| progressive | पूछ रहा / पूछ रही / पूछ रहे |
| perfective | पूछा / पूछी / पूछे / पूछीं |
| conjunctive | पूछकर |
| simultaneous participle | पूछते हुए |
| prospective | पूछने वाला / पूछने वाली / पूछने वाले |
वह हर बात अपने बड़े भाई से पूछती है।
vah har bāt apne baṛe bhāī se pūchtī hai.
She asks her older brother about everything.
पत्रकार मंत्री से कठिन सवाल पूछ रहे हैं।
patrakār mantrī se kaṭhin savāl pūch rahe haiṃ.
Journalists are asking the minister difficult questions.
Nonperfective agreement follows the asker. The से-marked person is a source of information, not an agreement controller.
Person with से, content as object
The question content may be a noun such as सवाल, बात, रास्ता, नाम, कीमत, a question word, or a full reported question.
मैंने रिसेप्शन पर कमरे की कीमत पूछी।
maĩne risepśan par kamre kī kīmat pūchī.
I asked the price of the room at reception.
उसने मुझसे पूछा कि बस कब आएगी।
usne mujhse pūchā ki bas kab āegī.
She asked me when the bus would come.
Hindi keeps the question word in its ordinary clause position and does not require English-style inversion inside the embedded question. More patterns appear under reported questions.
पूछना versus माँगना
English ask covers both requesting information and requesting an object or action. Hindi normally uses पूछना for information and माँगना for asking for something: रास्ता पूछना ask the way, but पानी माँगना ask for water. A request for someone to act commonly uses कहना, अनुरोध करना, or an imperative construction.
मैंने रास्ता पूछा, पानी नहीं माँगा।
maĩne rāstā pūchā, pānī nahīṃ mā̃gā.
I asked the way; I didn't ask for water.
This is a lexical distinction English speakers must memorize; adding के लिए to पूछना does not automatically create the requesting sense.
Perfective transitivity and agreement
पूछना is transitive. A perfective asker takes ने. An unmarked content noun can control agreement: बात पूछी, सवाल पूछा, प्रश्न पूछे. A clausal question or omitted content gives default masculine singular पूछा.
नैना ने मुझसे दो ज़रूरी बातें पूछीं।
nainā ne mujhse do zarūrī bāteṃ pūchīṃ.
Naina asked me two important things.
Feminine plural बातें selects पूछीं. The source phrase मुझसे has no effect on agreement.
Future and subjunctive
| Person | Subjunctive | Future masculine | Future feminine |
|---|---|---|---|
| मैं | पूछूँ | पूछूँगा | पूछूँगी |
| तुम | पूछो | पूछोगे | पूछोगी |
| यह / वह | पूछे | पूछेगा | पूछेगी |
| हम / आप / ये / वे | पूछें | पूछेंगे | पूछेंगी |
मैं कल लेखाकार से इस खर्च के बारे में पूछूँगा।
maĩ kal lekhākār se is kharc ke bāre meṃ pūchū̃gā.
I'll ask the accountant about this expense tomorrow. (male speaker)
अगर कुछ साफ़ न हो, तो आप तुरंत पूछें।
agar kuch sāf na ho, to āp turant pūcheṃ.
If anything is unclear, ask immediately.
Imperatives and participles
The imperatives are intimate पूछ, familiar पूछो, and respectful पूछिए. A permission-seeking phrase एक बात पूछूँ? uses the first-person subjunctive: “May I ask something?”
एक निजी सवाल पूछूँ, अगर आपको बुरा न लगे?
ek nijī savāl pūchū̃, agar āpko burā na lage?
May I ask a personal question, if you don't mind?
Participial forms include पूछकर, पूछते हुए, पूछा हुआ सवाल, and पूछने वाला व्यक्ति.
पता किसी से पूछकर ही आगे जाना।
patā kisī se pūchkar hī āge jānā.
Only continue after asking someone for directions. (familiar reminder)
पूछ लेना, पूछ बैठना, and causation
पूछ लेना presents the inquiry as a prudent or easily completed step: ask/check while the opportunity exists. पूछ बैठना can frame a question as tactless, impulsive, or unintended.
बुकिंग करने से पहले रद्द करने के नियम पूछ लेना।
bukiṅg karne se pahle radd karne ke niyam pūch lenā.
Ask about the cancellation rules before booking. (familiar reminder)
मैं घबराहट में उसकी उम्र पूछ बैठा।
maĩ ghabrāhaṭ meṃ uskī umr pūch baiṭhā.
In my nervousness, I ended up asking her age. (male speaker)
पूछवाना means have a question asked or arrange for information to be obtained. It is possible but less common than simple पूछना; formal institutional contexts may use पूछताछ करवाना “have an inquiry conducted.”
The idiom हाल-चाल पूछना means ask how someone is doing, not request a literal report of their movements.
उन्होंने फ़ोन करके मेरे माता-पिता का हाल-चाल पूछा।
unhoṃne fon karke mere mātā-pitā kā hāl-cāl pūchā.
They called and asked how my parents were doing. (honorific)
Common Mistakes
❌ मैंने शिक्षक को सवाल पूछा।
Incorrect for the person being questioned — use से.
✅ मैंने शिक्षक से सवाल पूछा।
maĩne śikṣak se savāl pūchā.
I asked the teacher a question.
❌ उसने पानी पूछा।
Incorrect for requesting water — use माँगना.
✅ उसने पानी माँगा।
usne pānī mā̃gā.
She asked for water.
❌ रीना ने दो बातें पूछा।
Incorrect — feminine plural बातें requires पूछीं.
✅ रीना ने दो बातें पूछीं।
rīnā ne do bāteṃ pūchīṃ.
Reena asked two things.
❌ आप उनसे पूछो।
Incorrect — आप requires the respectful imperative पूछिए, not familiar पूछो.
✅ आप उनसे पूछिए।
āp unse pūchie.
Please ask them.
Key Takeaways
पूछना is a transitive information-seeking verb. The person questioned takes से, while the content is the direct object and may control perfective agreement after an ergative asker. Distinguish पूछना from requestive माँगना, and learn पूछ लेना, पूछ बैठना, and हाल-चाल पूछना as conventional extensions.
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- बताना batānā: to tell and explainB1 — Reference बताना with recipient-को and noun, clause, and question-word content frames, plus agreement, compounds, and causation.
- Indirect questions and embedded word orderC1 — Embed wh- and yes-no questions under verbs such as पूछना, जानना, and पता होना while preserving Hindi clause structure and case marking.
- Reported questionsA2 — Report Hindi wh- and yes-or-no questions with पूछना and कि while preserving embedded word order, clear participant reference, and meaningful tense choices.
- 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.
- Perfective object agreementA2 — Make a transitive perfective agree with an eligible unmarked direct object after ने, including gender-number and auxiliary-bearing forms.
- Causative argument markingC1 — Assign ने, को, and से to the causer, affected participant, intermediary, and patient in Hindi causative clauses.