The characteristic direct imperative for आप ends in written -इए, conventionally represented as -ie in this guide: बैठना → बैठिए, सुनना → सुनिए, बोलना → बोलिए. It addresses one respected person or a respectfully addressed group and is invariant for gender. English often adds please in translation, but Hindi respect is already grammaticalized in the verb.
Compare all three address levels in the imperative overview; this page concentrates on the productive आप pattern.
The productive consonant-stem pattern
For many consonant-final stems, attach -इए directly. The preceding consonant remains part of the stem.
| Infinitive | Stem | आप imperative | Romanization |
|---|---|---|---|
| बोलना | बोल- | बोलिए | bolie |
| चलना | चल- | चलिए | calie |
| बैठना | बैठ- | बैठिए | baiṭhie |
| लिखना | लिख- | लिखिए | likhie |
| सुनना | सुन- | सुनिए | sunie |
| रखना | रख- | रखिए | rakhie |
| पढ़ना | पढ़- | पढ़िए | paṛhie |
कृपया इस फ़ॉर्म पर अपना नाम लिखिए।
kripyā is form par apnā nām likhie.
Please write your name on this form. (respectful)
मेरी बात अंत तक सुनिए, फिर जवाब दीजिए।
merī bāt ant tak sunie, phir javāb dījie.
Please listen to me until the end, then answer. (respectful)
The second sentence combines regular सुनिए with irregular दीजिए, covered fully on the next page. Both are complete finite commands; neither takes हैं after it.
Vowel-final stems
With stems in आ, the stem vowel and इए remain visible in sequence: जा + इए → जाइए, आ + इए → आइए, खा + इए → खाइए.
शर्मा जी, अंदर आइए और मेरे साथ बैठिए।
śarmā jī, andar āie aur mere sāth baiṭhie.
Mr. Sharma, please come inside and sit with me. (respectful male addressee)
फ़ातिमा जी, अंदर आइए और मेरे साथ बैठिए।
fātimā jī, andar āie aur mere sāth baiṭhie.
Ms. Fatima, please come inside and sit with me. (respectful female addressee)
आप सब पहले खाना खाइए, फिर बैठक शुरू करेंगे।
āp sab pahle khānā khāie, phir baiṭhak śurū kareṅge.
All of you, please eat first; then we will start the meeting. (respectful plural)
The command remains आइए/बैठिए/खाइए for masculine, feminine, singular honorific, and plural addressees. Unlike future आएँगे/आएँगी, this direct imperative has no gender opposition.
आप may be omitted
The imperative itself signals respectful or polite plural address, so overt आप is often unnecessary. Use the pronoun for contrast, topic, or explicit inclusion.
थोड़ी देर यहीं रुकिए; डॉक्टर अभी आएँगे।
thoṛī der yahīṃ rukie; ḍokṭar abhī āẽge.
Please wait right here for a little while; the doctor will come shortly.
तुम बाहर रुको, लेकिन आप अंदर चलिए।
tum bāhar ruko, lekin āp andar calie.
You wait outside, but you come inside. (familiar, then respectful)
The second example makes the relationship contrast explicit. तुम...रुको and आप...चलिए cannot be swapped without changing the social alignment.
Respectful आप is not necessarily distant or bureaucratic. Spouses, relatives, and close acquaintances may use it warmly. Conversely, a formally worded command can still sound abrupt if the situation gives the speaker no right to direct the listener.
Direct imperative versus formal करें
Hindi also uses subjunctive/jussive करें, बैठें, जाएँ in formal instructions, signs, and suggestions. It overlaps with polite command functions but is not the same morphological paradigm.
कृपया इस कक्ष में प्रवेश न करें।
kripyā is kakṣ meṃ praveś na kareṃ.
Please do not enter this room. (formal notice)
कृपया सामने वाले कक्ष में बैठिए।
kripyā sāmne vāle kakṣ meṃ baiṭhie.
Please sit in the room opposite. (direct respectful request)
The notice uses न करें, a (formal) impersonal or audience-wide prohibition. बैठिए directly addresses a respected listener. Both can be polite; their discourse packaging differs.
Compound commands: mark the final vector
In a compound predicate, the lexical stem comes first and the final vector bears respectful imperative morphology.
रिपोर्ट भेजने से पहले एक बार पढ़ लीजिए।
riporṭ bhejne se pahle ek bār paṛh lījie.
Please read the report once before sending it.
ये दस्तावेज़ स्वागत-कक्ष में जमा कर दीजिए।
ye dastāvez svāgat-kakṣ meṃ jamā kar dījie.
Please submit these documents at reception.
थक गए हैं तो थोड़ी देर बैठ जाइए।
thak gae haiṃ to thoṛī der baiṭh jāie.
If you are tired, please sit down for a while. (respectful, male or mixed reference)
The structures are lexical पढ़-/जमा कर-/बैठ- plus polite vectors लीजिए/दीजिए/जाइए. The vector adds completion, affectedness, or transition; it is not freely attachable to every stem.
Agreement inside the predicate
The respectful imperative itself is invariant, but an adjective or participial element may agree with another controller.
खिड़कियाँ खुली रखिए और परदे बंद रखिए।
khiṛkiyā̃ khulī rakhie aur parde band rakhie.
Please keep the windows open and the curtains closed.
Feminine plural खिड़कियाँ selects खुली. Final रखिए agrees with neither windows nor curtains; it marks the addressee. This layered analysis prevents the English understood subject “you” from being treated as controller of every Hindi form.
Negatives and question-shaped requests
Use मत for an ordinary direct negative request at the आप level.
अभी भुगतान मत कीजिए; पहले राशि जाँच लीजिए।
abhī bhugtān mat kījie; pahle rāśi jā̃c lījie.
Please do not pay yet; check the amount first.
For a more indirect request, Hindi can ask about future willingness. This is a future question, not an imperative.
क्या आप कल तक यह फ़ॉर्म भर देंगे?
kyā āp kal tak yah form bhar deṅge?
Would you fill out this form by tomorrow? (respectful request question)
यह फ़ॉर्म कल तक भर दीजिए।
yah form kal tak bhar dījie.
Please fill out this form by tomorrow. (respectful imperative)
The question can sound less direct and marks masculine or mixed/honorific देंगे; a female singular respected addressee may take देंगी. Imperative दीजिए itself does not vary by gender.
Softeners and register
कृपया is common in notices, emails, and service language (formal). Conversational ज़रा often sounds warmer: ज़रा इधर देखिए. A light verb can also make a request more considerate or result-oriented: देख लीजिए “take a look,” लिख दीजिए “write it down for me/complete the writing.” These resources complement आप morphology; they do not replace it.
Common Mistakes
Mixing आप with the तुम imperative
❌ आप यहाँ बैठो।
Incorrect mixed paradigm — आप requires बैठिए or an appropriate jussive बैठें.
✅ आप यहाँ थोड़ी देर बैठिए।
āp yahā̃ thoṛī der baiṭhie.
Please sit here for a little while. (respectful)
Writing long -ीए instead of -िए
❌ कृपया मेरी बात सुनीए।
Incorrect spelling — the polite form is सुनिए with -इए.
✅ कृपया मेरी बात सुनिए।
kripyā merī bāt sunie.
Please listen to me. (respectful)
Adding feminine future morphology
❌ मैडम, आप अंदर आइएगी।
Incorrect — आइएगी mixes imperative आइए with future feminine -गी.
✅ मैडम, आप अंदर आइए।
maiḍam, āp andar āie.
Ma'am, please come inside.
Adding हैं after a finite command
❌ आप यह घोषणा सुनिए हैं।
Incorrect — सुनिए is already a finite respectful imperative.
✅ आप यह घोषणा ध्यान से सुनिए।
āp yah ghoṣṇā dhyān se sunie.
Please listen to this announcement carefully.
Using an oblique infinitive as the command
❌ आप कल समय पर आने।
Incorrect — आने is non-finite and cannot stand as this direct respectful command.
✅ आप कल समय पर आइए।
āp kal samay par āie.
Please come on time tomorrow.
Key Takeaways
- Regular consonant stems take -इए: बोलिए, बैठिए, लिखिए, सुनिए.
- जा-, आ-, खा- produce जाइए, आइए, खाइए.
- The form is invariant for gender and for respectful singular versus plural address.
- Formal jussive करें overlaps with polite instruction but differs from direct imperative कीजिए/करिए.
- In compound commands, polite marking belongs on the final vector: पढ़ लीजिए, भेज दीजिए, बैठ जाइए.
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Start learning Hindi →Related Topics
- Imperative overview by honorific levelB1 — Choose Hindi command forms for intimate तू, familiar तुम, and respectful or plural आप while keeping polarity and predicate layers aligned.
- तू imperative stem formsB1 — Form intimate singular Hindi commands with the bare verb stem while controlling social stance, negation, and compound-command structure.
- तुम imperative -oB1 — Form familiar singular and plural Hindi commands with -ओ, including vowel-stem changes, contracted forms, negation, and compound predicates.
- Irregular polite imperativesB1 — Master high-frequency respectful forms such as कीजिए, दीजिए, लीजिए, and पीजिए, including their regular alternatives and vector uses.
- Negative imperatives with मतB1 — Form direct Hindi prohibitions with मत while preserving the command form appropriate to तू, तुम, or आप.
- आप respectful youA1 — Use आप for respectful singular and ordinary plural address, with plural agreement, postpositional forms, and socially appropriate contrasts with तुम.