रोकना is the transitive verb “stop, halt, prevent, detain, hold back.” It introduces an external stopper and an affected object. Its intransitive partner रुकना means that a person, vehicle, process, or event stops without being presented as the object of an external actor.
Stem and principal forms
The stem is रोक-.
| Category | Forms |
|---|---|
| infinitive | रोकना |
| habitual | रोकता / रोकती / रोकते |
| progressive | रोक रहा / रोक रही / रोक रहे |
| perfective | रोका / रोकी / रोके / रोकीं |
| conjunctive | रोककर |
| simultaneous participle | रोकते हुए |
| prospective | रोकने वाला / रोकने वाली / रोकने वाले |
पुलिस हर संदिग्ध गाड़ी को जाँच के लिए रोकती है।
pulis har sandigdh gāṛī ko jā̃c ke lie roktī hai.
The police stop every suspicious vehicle for inspection.
डॉक्टर ख़ून का बहाव रोकने की कोशिश कर रहे हैं।
ḍokṭar xūn kā bahāv rokne kī kośiś kar rahe haiṃ.
The doctors are trying to stop the bleeding.
Object marking
Specific people, animals, or vehicles commonly take को: यात्री को रोकना, बस को रोकना. Inanimate processes and mass-like effects can remain unmarked: काम रोकना, भुगतान रोकना, पानी रोकना. Marking depends on specificity and affectedness, not a rigid animate/inanimate switch.
सुरक्षा-कर्मी ने एक यात्री को दरवाज़े पर रोका।
surakṣā-karmī ne ek yātrī ko darvāze par rokā.
The security guard stopped a passenger at the door.
तेज़ बारिश ने निर्माण रोक दिया।
tez bāriś ne nirmāṇ rok diyā.
Heavy rain halted construction.
Even an inanimate force such as बारिश can be the transitive causer and take ने in a perfective event.
Preventing someone from acting
The high-frequency frame X-को + infinitive-oblique + से + रोकना means prevent X from doing something: उसे जाने से रोकना, बच्चों को बाहर खेलने से रोकना.
किसी ने उसे सच बोलने से नहीं रोका।
kisī ne use sac bolne se nahīṃ rokā.
No one prevented her from telling the truth.
The prevented activity takes -ने से, not the English pattern “stop someone to do.” The person being restrained keeps को.
नियम कर्मचारियों को घर से काम करने से नहीं रोकते।
niyam karmacāriyoṃ ko ghar se kām karne se nahīṃ rokte.
The rules do not prevent employees from working from home.
Perfective transitivity and agreement
A perfective stopper takes ने. An unmarked affected object can control agreement; a को-marked target triggers default रोका.
बैंक ने संदिग्ध भुगतान रोक दिए।
baiṅk ne sandigdh bhugtān rok die.
The bank stopped the suspicious payments.
Masculine plural भुगतान controls दिए in the compound. Compare बैंक ने उस भुगतान को रोक दिया, where को blocks agreement and default दिया appears.
Future and subjunctive
| Person | Subjunctive | Future masculine | Future feminine |
|---|---|---|---|
| मैं | रोकूँ | रोकूँगा | रोकूँगी |
| तुम | रोको | रोकोगे | रोकोगी |
| यह / वह | रोके | रोकेगा | रोकेगी |
| हम / आप / ये / वे | रोकें | रोकेंगे | रोकेंगी |
अगर बस आई तो मैं उसे यहीं रोकूँगा।
agar bas āī to maĩ use yahīṃ rokū̃gā.
If the bus comes, I'll stop it right here. (male speaker)
ज़रूरी है कि हम अफ़वाह फैलने से रोकें।
zarūrī hai ki ham afvāh phailne se rokeṃ.
It is essential that we stop the rumor from spreading.
Imperatives and participles
The imperatives are intimate रोक, familiar रोको, and respectful रोकिए. Participles include रोककर, रोकते हुए, रोका हुआ, and रोकने वाला.
गाड़ी किनारे रोकिए, बीच सड़क पर नहीं।
gāṛī kināre rokie, bīc saṛak par nahīṃ.
Please stop the car at the side, not in the middle of the road.
रोकी हुई ट्रेन में यात्री बेचैन हो रहे थे।
rokī huī ṭren meṃ yātrī becain ho rahe the.
Passengers on the halted train were becoming restless.
रोक देना, causation, and idiom
रोक देना emphasizes decisive, abrupt, or complete stopping. रोक stays bare and देना carries inflection.
एक तकनीकी समस्या ने प्रसारण बीच में रोक दिया।
ek taknīkī samasyā ne prasāraṇ bīc meṃ rok diyā.
A technical problem stopped the broadcast midway.
रुकना–रोकना–रुकवाना form an intransitive–transitive–arranged-causative chain. रुकवाना means have a vehicle, process, or person stopped, often through another agent.
The subject-agreement side of the contrast is treated separately under रुकना “to stop oneself”. Comparing the two pages is especially useful in perfectives, because adding the external stopper changes both case marking and the possible agreement controller.
अधिकारी ने पुलिस से ट्रक रुकवाया।
adhikārī ne pulis se ṭrak rukvāyā.
The officer had the police stop the truck.
Idiomatic साँस रोकना means hold one's breath; रास्ता रोकना means block someone's way and may imply deliberate obstruction.
Common Mistakes
❌ बस ने स्टेशन पर रोका।
Incorrect for the bus stopping itself — use intransitive रुकना.
✅ बस स्टेशन पर रुकी।
bas sṭeśan par rukī.
The bus stopped at the station.
❌ उसने रीना से जाने को रोका।
Incorrect frame — the person takes को and the prevented action takes -ने से.
✅ उसने रीना को जाने से रोका।
usne rīnā ko jāne se rokā.
He stopped Reena from leaving.
❌ पुलिस ने दो गाड़ियाँ रोका।
Incorrect — unmarked feminine plural गाड़ियाँ requires रोकीं.
✅ पुलिस ने दो गाड़ियाँ रोकीं।
pulis ne do gāṛiyā̃ rokīṃ.
The police stopped two vehicles.
❌ आप गाड़ी यहाँ रोको।
Incorrect — respectful आप requires रोकिए, not familiar रोको.
✅ आप गाड़ी यहाँ रोकिए।
āp gāṛī yahā̃ rokie.
Please stop the car here. (respectful)
Key Takeaways
रोकना is a transitive verb of halting and prevention. Specific affected targets commonly take को, and prevented activities take -ने से. Perfective stoppers take ने; eligible unmarked objects control agreement. रोक देना makes cessation decisive, and रुकवाना adds an arranger or intermediary.
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- रुकना ruknā: to stop oneselfB1 — Reference रुकना for stopping, pausing, remaining, and staying at a place, with no-ने perfectives and the contrast with रोकना.
- 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.
- देना as outward or other-directed vectorA2 — Use vector देना to present a result as released, made available, directed outward, or decisively brought about.
- Infinitival complement clausesB2 — Choose direct, oblique, controlled, and agreeing Hindi infinitival complements while keeping their controller distinct from the matrix subject and finite clauses.