सोना is the intransitive verb “sleep.” Its stem is सो-, but some forms insert य or combine vowels in ways that learners must recognize: perfective सोया, first-person future सोऊँगा, and respectful imperative सोइए. It contrasts with expressions of sleepiness such as नींद आना and with causative सुलाना “put to sleep.”
Principal forms
| Category | Forms |
|---|---|
| infinitive | सोना |
| habitual | सोता / सोती / सोते |
| progressive | सो रहा / सो रही / सो रहे |
| perfective | सोया / सोई / सोए / सोईं |
| conjunctive | सोकर |
| simultaneous participle | सोते हुए |
| prospective | सोने वाला / सोने वाली / सोने वाले |
वह छुट्टी के दिन थोड़ी देर तक सोती है।
vah chuṭṭī ke din thoṛī der tak sotī hai.
She sleeps a little longer on days off.
बच्चा अभी सो रहा है, इसलिए धीरे बोलिए।
baccā abhī so rahā hai, islie dhīre bolie.
The child is sleeping, so please speak quietly.
The habitual can describe a routine or characteristic amount of sleep. The progressive describes sleep in progress. Neither means merely “feel sleepy”: that experiencer state is normally मुझे नींद आ रही है “I'm feeling sleepy.”
See hunger, thirst, sleep, and hurry expressions for the broader contrast between verbal सोना and dative-experiencer नींद expressions.
Duration, location, and time frames
A duration can be unmarked: आठ घंटे सोना. An endpoint takes तक, a starting point takes से, and a sleeping surface or place uses its natural locative phrase: बिस्तर पर, कमरे में, घर पर.
मैं कल रात केवल पाँच घंटे सो पाया।
maĩ kal rāt keval pā̃c ghaṇṭe so pāyā.
I managed to sleep only five hours last night. (male speaker)
मेहमान ऊपर वाले कमरे में सोएँगे।
mehmān ūpar vāle kamre meṃ soẽge.
The guests will sleep in the upstairs room.
English also permits a bare duration after sleep, but that duration is not a patient of the verb. Hindi likewise places the duration before intransitive सोना; the number of hours never controls agreement.
Perfective and no ने
सोना is intransitive. Perfective सोया/सोई/सोए/सोईं agrees with the unmarked sleeper and does not take ergative ने. The inserted य appears in masculine singular सोया, while the feminine is सोई, not सोयी in the guide's standard spelling.
यात्रा के बाद हम दस घंटे सोए।
yātrā ke bād ham das ghaṇṭe soe.
After the journey, we slept for ten hours.
दोनों बहनें रास्ते भर सोईं।
donoṃ bahneṃ rāste bhar soīṃ.
Both sisters slept throughout the journey.
Future and subjunctive
| Person | Subjunctive | Future masculine | Future feminine |
|---|---|---|---|
| मैं | सोऊँ | सोऊँगा | सोऊँगी |
| तुम | सोओ | सोओगे | सोओगी |
| यह / वह | सोए | सोएगा | सोएगी |
| हम / आप / ये / वे | सोएँ | सोएँगे | सोएँगी |
आज मैं जल्दी सोऊँगा क्योंकि सुबह उड़ान है।
āj maĩ jaldī soū̃gā kyoṅki subah uṛān hai.
I'll go to sleep early today because I have a flight in the morning. (male speaker)
बेहतर है कि आप कुछ देर सो लें।
behtar hai ki āp kuch der so leṃ.
It would be better for you to get some sleep.
In the second example, vector लेना adds bounded, self-benefiting completion: get a bit of sleep. It bears the subjunctive plural/honorific ending.
Imperatives and जा सोना
The direct imperatives are intimate सो, familiar सोओ, and respectful सोइए. In conversation, endpoint compound सो जाओ/सो जाइए “go to sleep” is often more natural than commanding the ongoing state “sleep.”
अब फ़ोन रखो और सो जाओ।
ab fon rakho aur so jāo.
Now put the phone down and go to sleep. (familiar)
A compact motion sequence places जाना first: जा सो “go sleep,” जाकर सोओ “go and sleep.” In intimate speech, bare जा सो presents going away and sleeping as one ordered sequence. It is not the same structure as सो जा, where जाना is the endpoint vector after सो.
बहुत रात हो गई है—जा सो, बाकी काम सुबह करना।
bahut rāt ho gaī hai—jā so, bākī kām subah karnā.
It's very late—go to sleep; do the rest of the work in the morning. (intimate)
This order distinction is lexical grammar: जा सोना describes one action followed by another; सो जाना profiles entry into sleep.
सो जाना and other compound behavior
सो जाना means fall asleep or go to sleep and presents the transition as completed. सो लेना means get some sleep, often for one's benefit or while an opportunity exists. सो रहना means remain asleep.
दवा लेने के कुछ ही मिनट बाद वह सो गई।
davā lene ke kuch hī minaṭ bād vah so gaī.
She fell asleep just a few minutes after taking the medicine.
तुम रास्ते में थोड़ी देर सो लेना; मैं गाड़ी चलाऊँगा।
tum rāste meṃ thoṛī der so lenā; maĩ gāṛī calāū̃gā.
Get some sleep on the way; I'll drive. (familiar; male speaker)
सोना is lexical in the simple clause and becomes the first member of these compounds. It is not itself a productive vector after arbitrary verb stems.
सुलाना and सुलवाना
The causative is irregular सुलाना, not सोआना: it means put someone to sleep or put someone to bed. सुलवाना means arrange for someone else to do that.
पिता कहानी सुनाकर बच्चे को सुला रहे हैं।
pitā kahānī sunākar bacce ko sulā rahe haiṃ.
The father is telling the child a story and putting them to sleep. (honorific)
The sleeping child takes को in the causative clause, and the causer controls nonperfective agreement. In a perfective, the causer takes ने: माँ ने बच्चे को सुलाया.
An idiom घोड़े बेचकर सोना means sleep very soundly or carelessly, literally “sleep after selling one's horses.” It is informal and often humorous.
परीक्षा ख़त्म हुई तो वह घोड़े बेचकर सोया।
parīkṣā xatm huī to vah ghoṛe beckar soyā.
Once the exam was over, he slept without a care in the world. (informal)
Common Mistakes
❌ मैंने कल बहुत सोया।
Incorrect — intransitive सोना does not take perfective ने.
✅ मैं कल बहुत सोया।
maĩ kal bahut soyā.
I slept a lot yesterday. (male speaker)
❌ दोनों लड़कियाँ सोए।
Incorrect — feminine plural sleepers require सोईं.
✅ दोनों लड़कियाँ सोईं।
donoṃ laṛkiyā̃ soīṃ.
Both girls slept.
❌ मैं अभी सोना हूँ।
Incorrect — the infinitive cannot replace the progressive construction.
✅ मैं अभी सो रहा हूँ।
maĩ abhī so rahā hū̃.
I'm sleeping right now. (male speaker)
❌ माँ बच्चे को सो रही है।
Incorrect for putting the child to sleep — use causative सुलाना.
✅ माँ बच्चे को सुला रही है।
mā̃ bacce ko sulā rahī hai.
The mother is putting the child to sleep.
Key Takeaways
सोना is intransitive, so the sleeper controls agreement and never takes perfective ने. Learn its vowel-sensitive forms सोया, सोऊँ, सोएँ, सोइए. सो जाना marks entry into sleep, जा सो orders motion followed by sleep, and causative सुलाना adds someone who puts the sleeper to bed.
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