Hindi imperatives encode the speaker's relationship to the addressee. The same instruction based on करना appears as intimate कर, familiar करो, or respectful/plural कीजिए/करिए. English do it leaves that social choice unstated, but a Hindi command cannot avoid choosing an address level—even when the pronoun itself is omitted.
The three-level system
The simplest imperative addresses a second person directly. Its form marks intimacy, familiarity, or respect, not tense and not the addressee's gender.
| Address level | Pronoun | करना | जाना | Typical scope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| intimate singular | तू | कर | जा | one addressee in a relationship that licenses strong intimacy |
| familiar singular/plural | तुम | करो | जाओ | one or more familiar addressees |
| respectful singular/plural | आप | कीजिए / करिए | जाइए | one respected addressee or a respectfully addressed group |
राहुल, ज़रा इधर आ।
rāhul, zarā idhar ā.
Rahul, come here a moment. (intimate)
नेहा, तुम मेरे साथ चलो।
nehā, tum mere sāth calo.
Neha, come with me. (familiar)
डॉक्टर साहब, आप खिड़की के पास बैठिए।
ḍokṭar sāhab, āp khiṛkī ke pās baiṭhie.
Doctor, please sit near the window. (respectful)
The imperative itself has no masculine/feminine contrast. आ, चलो, and बैठिए keep the same form for male and female addressees. What changes is the relationship level and, for तुम/आप, the grammatical address number.
Gender is absent, but number and respect matter
A simple imperative never agrees with the addressee's gender. The intimate form is singular; familiar तुम may address one person or a familiar group; respectful आप takes the same polite imperative for one respected person and for a group.
रोहन, यह नोट ध्यान से पढ़।
rohan, yah noṭ dhyān se paṛh.
Rohan, read this note carefully. (intimate)
मीरा, यह नोट ध्यान से पढ़।
mīrā, yah noṭ dhyān se paṛh.
Meera, read this note carefully. (intimate)
तुम दोनों पीछे का दरवाज़ा बंद करो।
tum donoṃ pīche kā darvāzā band karo.
Both of you close the back door. (familiar plural)
आप सब अपनी सीटों पर बैठिए।
āp sab apnī sīṭoṃ par baiṭhie.
All of you, please sit in your seats. (respectful plural)
The two पढ़ examples show that gender does not change a तू command. करो and बैठिए likewise remain invariant; दोनों and सब make actual plurality explicit.
The subject is usually omitted
Because the form itself signals the address level, everyday commands normally omit तू, तुम, आप. An overt pronoun is useful for contrast, correction, or assigning different tasks.
तुम बाहर रुको; आप मेरे साथ अंदर आइए।
tum bāhar ruko; āp mere sāth andar āie.
You wait outside; you come inside with me. (familiar, then respectful)
Here the pronouns contrast two addressees, and the verbs must remain aligned: तुम...रुको, आप...आइए. Without that contrast, simply बाहर रुको or अंदर आइए would be more natural.
For the social choice itself, see choosing तू, तुम, or आप. No universal rule determines when relatives, colleagues, or friends switch levels; family practice, region, age, setting, and moment all matter.
Imperatives are layered predicates
The address marking appears on the final verbal element. A lexical stem can be followed by a vector verb that contributes completion, affectedness, direction, or a softer practical stance.
| Meaning | तू | तुम | आप |
|---|---|---|---|
| read it / make sure to read it | पढ़ ले | पढ़ लो | पढ़ लीजिए |
| send it off | भेज दे | भेज दो | भेज दीजिए |
| sit down | बैठ जा | बैठ जाओ | बैठ जाइए |
रास्ते पर निकलने से पहले नक्शा देख लो।
rāste par nikalne se pahle nakśā dekh lo.
Take a look at the map before setting out. (familiar)
कृपया जवाब आज ही भेज दीजिए।
kripyā javāb āj hī bhej dījie.
Please send the reply today. (respectful)
The lexical actions are देख- and भेज-. Final लो/दीजिए carries the imperative address morphology and adds a conventional vector meaning. These combinations are not freely interchangeable: देख लो is natural for “take a look,” while not every verb accepts लेना with the same nuance.
Objects may control earlier agreement, not the imperative ending
Simple commands themselves do not agree with objects. However, an adjective or participial element earlier in the predicate can have its own controller.
खिड़कियाँ खुली रखिए और मुख्य दरवाज़ा बंद रखिए।
khiṛkiyā̃ khulī rakhie aur mukhya darvāzā band rakhie.
Please keep the windows open and the main door closed. (respectful)
Feminine plural खिड़कियाँ selects खुली, while masculine दरवाज़ा appears with invariant बंद. Final रखिए marks respectful address in both halves. English makes the addressee the understood subject but does not reveal this split between object-related agreement and imperative morphology.
Negative commands
Everyday negative imperatives normally place मत before the predicate. The imperative itself retains the chosen level.
यह बात अभी किसी को मत बताओ।
yah bāt abhī kisī ko mat batāo.
Do not tell anyone this yet. (familiar)
कृपया इस दरवाज़े से बाहर मत जाइए।
kripyā is darvāze se bāhar mat jāie.
Please do not go out through this door. (respectful)
Subordinate or formal prohibitions may use न with a subjunctive/jussive form, as in कृपया यहाँ प्रवेश न करें (formal) “please do not enter here.” Ordinary नहीं can contrast or correct an action, but it is not the default neutral imperative negator. A later page treats negative imperatives with मत in detail.
Commands versus question-shaped requests
Hindi can request the same action through a true imperative or through a question about willingness or future action. The question is not an “interrogative imperative”; it has different grammar and often sounds less direct.
यह डिब्बा खोलो।
yah ḍibbā kholo.
Open this box. (familiar command)
क्या तुम यह डिब्बा खोलोगे?
kyā tum yah ḍibbā khologe?
Will you open this box? (familiar question used as a request, male addressee)
The second sentence uses masculine future खोलोगे, so it marks gender in a way the imperative खोलो does not. Respectful क्या आप...खोलेंगे? is another common indirect request. Intonation and context determine whether it is heard as a genuine question or a request.
Softening is more than one word for “please”
कृपया is common in notices, service encounters, and careful requests and can sound (formal). Conversational ज़रा, the particle ना, an appropriate vector verb, and the choice of आप can all soften a request. None cancels the underlying address level: ज़रा सुन remains intimate, while ज़रा सुनिए is respectful.
Imperatives also presuppose some control over the action. Commands like जानो “know!” or ठंड लगो “feel cold!” are normally pragmatically defective because knowing or experiencing cold is not simply initiated on command. Hindi instead chooses a controllable action: याद रखो “remember/keep in mind” or स्वेटर पहनिए “please put on a sweater.”
Common Mistakes
Treating one command form as universal
❌ आप यहाँ बैठो।
Incorrect in the standard respectful paradigm — आप requires बैठिए or a suitable formal jussive form.
✅ आप यहाँ आराम से बैठिए।
āp yahā̃ ārām se baiṭhie.
Please sit comfortably here. (respectful)
Giving an imperative gender marking
❌ मीरा, यह पत्र पढ़ी।
Incorrect — a direct imperative does not take feminine perfective पढ़ी.
✅ मीरा, यह पत्र पढ़।
mīrā, yah patr paṛh.
Meera, read this letter. (intimate)
Using an infinitive as a direct command without the instructional construction
❌ तुम अभी दरवाज़ा खोलने।
Incorrect — oblique infinitive खोलने cannot stand as this direct familiar command.
✅ तुम अभी दरवाज़ा खोलो।
tum abhī darvāzā kholo.
Open the door now. (familiar)
Adding a present auxiliary
❌ आप ध्यान से सुनिए हैं।
Incorrect — सुनिए is already a finite respectful imperative.
✅ आप यह बात ध्यान से सुनिए।
āp yah bāt dhyān se sunie.
Please listen to this carefully. (respectful)
Using नहीं as the automatic command negator
❌ यह बटन नहीं दबाओ।
Incorrect as a neutral standalone prohibition; नहीं would require a contrastive context.
✅ यह बटन मत दबाओ।
yah baṭan mat dabāo.
Do not press this button. (familiar)
Key Takeaways
- Imperatives encode the address relationship: कर, करो, कीजिए/करिए.
- Simple imperative forms do not distinguish masculine from feminine.
- The pronoun is often omitted, but the verb still reveals intimate, familiar, or respectful address.
- In compound commands, the final vector verb carries the imperative marking.
- मत is the default everyday negative; question-shaped requests use future or modal grammar rather than imperative morphology.
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- 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.
- आप imperative -iyeB1 — Form respectful singular and plural Hindi commands in -इए while handling vowel stems, polite requests, 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.
- Choosing तू तुम or आपA1 — Choose among intimate तू, familiar तुम, and respectful or plural आप while matching agreement, postpositional forms, and relationship-sensitive social meaning.