Most respectful imperatives follow a transparent stem + -इए pattern, but a few of the most frequent Hindi verbs have conventional polite forms that cannot be predicted by simple concatenation. The essential set is करना → कीजिए (alongside regular करिए), देना → दीजिए, लेना → लीजिए, and पीना → पीजिए. These forms also occur as final vector verbs in layered commands.
Learn the productive pattern first on the आप imperative -इए page; the forms here are the high-frequency exceptions and alternatives.
The core irregular set
| Infinitive | Expected but nonstandard form | Standard polite imperative | Romanization |
|---|---|---|---|
| करना | — | कीजिए / करिए | kījie / karie |
| देना | देइए | दीजिए | dījie |
| लेना | लेइए | लीजिए | lījie |
| पीना | पीइए | पीजिए | pījie |
The middle column shows the forms a learner might build mechanically; it does not recommend them. There is no productive shortcut that derives all four modern shapes. These extremely common forms must be memorized.
कृपया यह काम आज ही कीजिए।
kripyā yah kām āj hī kījie.
Please do this work today. (respectful)
मुझे सोचने के लिए दो मिनट दीजिए।
mujhe socne ke lie do minaṭ dījie.
Please give me two minutes to think.
यह रसीद अपने पास रख लीजिए।
yah rasīd apne pās rakh lījie.
Please keep this receipt with you.
बैठिए और थोड़ा पानी पीजिए।
baiṭhie aur thoṛā pānī pījie.
Please sit down and drink some water.
These polite imperatives do not vary for a male or female addressee, nor between one respected listener and a respectfully addressed group.
कीजिए and करिए are both standard
Hindi has two widely accepted polite imperatives of करना. कीजिए is conventional and extremely frequent; करिए transparently follows the regular stem + -इए pattern. Both occur in modern speech and writing, and the choice often reflects collocation, rhythm, and speaker preference rather than a strict difference in respect.
जो आपको ठीक लगे, वही करिए।
jo āpko ṭhīk lage, vahī karie.
Please do whatever seems right to you.
अपना काम पूरा कीजिए, फिर घर जाइए।
apnā kām pūrā kījie, phir ghar jāie.
Please finish your work, then go home.
In many fixed noun + करना predicates, कीजिए is especially familiar: माफ़ कीजिए, ध्यान दीजिए uses देना instead, कोशिश कीजिए, इंतज़ार कीजिए. Regular करिए remains grammatical; learners should not invent a categorical “formal versus informal” rule that native usage does not support.
Do not confuse irregularity with vowel spelling
Forms such as जाइए, आइए, खाइए preserve an आ + इए sequence and are productively related to vowel-final stems. Regular consonant-stem forms include कहिए, रहिए, देखिए, लिखिए.
| Type | Examples | Analysis |
|---|---|---|
| vowel-stem sequence | जाइए, आइए, खाइए | जा-/आ-/खा- + इए |
| regular consonant stem | कहिए, रहिए, देखिए | stem + इए |
| lexically irregular | कीजिए, दीजिए, लीजिए, पीजिए | memorized high-frequency shape |
अगली बार थोड़ा पहले आइए और हमें फ़ोन कीजिए।
aglī bār thoṛā pahle āie aur hameṃ fon kījie.
Next time, please come a little earlier and call us.
Spelling आइए with long ई as आईए would represent a different vowel sequence and is not the standard imperative spelling.
होना: use a natural predicate
Polite होइए exists but is uncommon in ordinary contemporary conversation and often sounds (formal) or elevated. Modern speakers usually choose a predicate that makes the intended state or change explicit: तैयार हो जाइए “get ready,” शांत रहिए “remain calm,” सावधान हो जाइए “become alert.”
कृपया नौ बजे तक तैयार हो जाइए।
kripyā nau baje tak taiyār ho jāie.
Please be ready by nine.
घबराइए नहीं; शांत रहिए।
ghabrāie nahīṃ; śānt rahie.
Please don't panic; remain calm.
The second example uses contrastive/postposed नहीं with an imperative, a natural reassuring formula. It does not establish नहीं as the default negator for every command.
दीजिए and लीजिए as vector verbs
The irregular forms are not confined to literal “give” and “take.” They frequently appear after a lexical stem as polite vectors.
कृपया फ़ाइल आज शाम तक भेज दीजिए।
kripyā fāil āj śām tak bhej dījie.
Please send the file by this evening.
जवाब देने से पहले सवाल फिर से पढ़ लीजिए।
javāb dene se pahle savāl phir se paṛh lījie.
Please read the question again before answering.
अगर मुझसे गलती हुई है, तो मुझे माफ़ कर दीजिए।
agar mujhse galtī huī hai, to mujhe māf kar dījie.
If I made a mistake, please forgive me.
In भेज दीजिए, देना adds an outward/completive orientation; पढ़ लीजिए presents the reading as something completed for the addressee's benefit or preparation. माफ़ कर दीजिए is a conventional polite request. These vectors are meaningful and lexically constrained, not interchangeable “polite endings.”
Agreement in layered polite commands
Final दीजिए/लीजिए marks the addressee and remains genderless. Earlier material can agree with an object or complement.
खिड़कियाँ खुली छोड़ दीजिए, लेकिन मुख्य दरवाज़ा बंद कर दीजिए।
khiṛkiyā̃ khulī choṛ dījie, lekin mukhya darvāzā band kar dījie.
Please leave the windows open, but close the main door.
Feminine plural खिड़कियाँ controls खुली. The polite vector दीजिए does not change. Hindi has layered lexical result + vector + imperative honorificity rather than one indivisible equivalent of English please leave/close.
Negative forms: मत, न, and नहीं
All three negative particles can appear around respectful requests, but their functions are not identical.
अभी भुगतान मत कीजिए।
abhī bhugtān mat kījie.
Do not make the payment yet. (direct respectful prohibition)
चिंता न कीजिए; हम समय पर पहुँच जाएँगे।
cintā na kījie; ham samay par pahũc jāẽge.
Please do not worry; we will arrive on time. (polite reassurance)
अभी नहीं कीजिए; सबके आने के बाद कीजिए।
abhī nahīṃ kījie; sabke āne ke bād kījie.
Don't do it now; do it after everyone arrives. (contrastive timing)
मत gives a direct prohibition. न कीजिए is common in polite advice and reassurance and can sound softer or more formal, without being confined to literature. नहीं explicitly contrasts the negated time or action with an alternative. Register and information structure—not a one-word substitution chart—determine the choice.
Imperative versus question request
मुझे थोड़ा समय दीजिए।
mujhe thoṛā samay dījie.
Please give me a little time. (respectful imperative)
क्या आप मुझे थोड़ा समय देंगे?
kyā āp mujhe thoṛā samay deṅge?
Would you give me a little time? (respectful question request, male or mixed reference)
The second sentence uses future देंगे, not an interrogative form of दीजिए. A respected female singular addressee may take देंगी in the future question, while imperative दीजिए stays invariant.
Common Mistakes
Shortening कीजिए to किजिए
❌ कृपया यह काम आज किजिए।
Incorrect — standard कीजिए begins with long की-.
✅ कृपया यह काम आज कीजिए।
kripyā yah kām āj kījie.
Please do this work today.
Building देना mechanically
❌ मुझे एक मौका देइए।
Incorrect — the standard polite imperative of देना is दीजिए.
✅ मुझे एक मौका दीजिए।
mujhe ek maukā dījie.
Please give me a chance.
Building लेना mechanically
❌ यह दवा लेइए।
Incorrect — the standard polite imperative of लेना is लीजिए.
✅ यह दवा समय पर लीजिए।
yah davā samay par lījie.
Please take this medicine on time.
Building पीना mechanically
❌ थोड़ा पानी पीइए।
Incorrect — the standard polite imperative of पीना is पीजिए.
✅ थोड़ा पानी धीरे-धीरे पीजिए।
thoṛā pānī dhīre-dhīre pījie.
Please drink a little water slowly.
Adding gender to a polite imperative
❌ मैडम, यह काम कीजिएगी।
Incorrect — कीजिएगी mixes imperative कीजिए with feminine future -गी.
✅ मैडम, यह काम कीजिए।
maiḍam, yah kām kījie.
Ma'am, please do this work.
Key Takeaways
- Memorize कीजिए/करिए, दीजिए, लीजिए, पीजिए.
- कीजिए and regular करिए are both standard; their distribution is not a simple formality scale.
- जाइए, आइए, खाइए are productive vowel-stem forms, not members of the lexical irregular set.
- In layered commands, दीजिए/लीजिए adds vector meaning as well as carrying respectful imperative morphology.
- मत, न, and नहीं all occur, with direct, softer/advisory, and contrastive functions respectively.
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Start learning Hindi →Related Topics
- आप imperative -iyeB1 — Form respectful singular and plural Hindi commands in -इए while handling vowel stems, polite requests, negation, and compound predicates.
- 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.
- Negative imperatives with मतB1 — Form direct Hindi prohibitions with मत while preserving the command form appropriate to तू, तुम, or आप.
- Soft commands with nā and particlesB1 — Use infinitive-shaped reminders, postposed ना, ज़रा, तो, and related particles to adjust the warmth and force of Hindi commands.
- देना as outward or other-directed vectorA2 — Use vector देना to present a result as released, made available, directed outward, or decisively brought about.
- लेना as self-directed or completive vectorA2 — Use vector लेना to present a result as secured for the agent, brought under control, or carried through to completion.