The familiar तुम imperative normally adds -ओ to the verbal stem: कर- → करो, बैठ- → बैठो, सुन- → सुनो. It can address one familiar person or several familiar people, and it does not change for masculine versus feminine addressees. Vowel-final stems create several high-frequency shapes—especially जाओ, आओ, दो, लो, पियो—that must be learned accurately.
The imperative overview by honorific level sets this familiar form beside the intimate तू and respectful आप paradigms.
The productive -ओ pattern
Consonant-final stems take written -ो directly.
| Infinitive | Stem | तुम imperative | Romanization |
|---|---|---|---|
| करना | कर- | करो | karo |
| बोलना | बोल- | बोलो | bolo |
| चलना | चल- | चलो | calo |
| बैठना | बैठ- | बैठो | baiṭho |
| लिखना | लिख- | लिखो | likho |
| सुनना | सुन- | सुनो | suno |
अर्जुन, थोड़ा धीरे बोलो।
arjun, thoṛā dhīre bolo.
Arjun, speak a little more slowly. (familiar)
रीमा, थोड़ा धीरे बोलो।
rīmā, thoṛā dhīre bolo.
Reema, speak a little more slowly. (familiar)
तुम सब लाइन में लगो और अपनी बारी का इंतज़ार करो।
tum sab lāin meṃ lago aur apnī bārī kā intazār karo.
All of you line up and wait for your turn. (familiar plural)
बोलो is identical for a male and female singular addressee. It also remains बोलो for a familiar group. The तुम imperative marks the address level, not gender or actual singular/plural number.
Vowel-final stems
The sound sequence created by the stem and -ओ determines the written form. Long आ remains visible before ओ: जा + ओ → जाओ, आ + ओ → आओ, खा + ओ → खाओ. Several extremely common verbs have contracted or glide-containing forms.
| Infinitive | तुम imperative | Note |
|---|---|---|
| जाना | जाओ | आ + ओ sequence |
| आना | आओ | आ + ओ sequence |
| खाना | खाओ | आ + ओ sequence |
| लेना | लो | high-frequency contraction, not लेओ |
| देना | दो | high-frequency contraction, not देओ |
| पीना | पियो | य-glide appears in standard form |
| होना | हो | surface form overlaps with familiar copula/subjunctive |
अंदर आओ, खाना खाओ और फिर चाय पियो।
andar āo, khānā khāo aur phir cāy piyo.
Come inside, eat, and then have some tea. (familiar)
यह किताब लो और वह वाली मुझे दो।
yah kitāb lo aur vah vālī mujhe do.
Take this book and give me that one. (familiar)
Direct imperative हो can be hard to distinguish from the copula तुम तैयार हो “you are ready.” Modern Hindi often chooses a clearer layered command: तैयार हो जाओ “get ready” or ख़ुश रहो “stay happy.” The final जाओ/रहो makes the command unmistakable.
Pronoun omission and social range
Because -ओ identifies the familiar level, तुम is often omitted. It is natural among many friends, classmates, siblings, peers, and toward familiar younger people. It may address one or several people. It is not a universal “informal” form: some families use आप internally, and an unfamiliar adult may expect respectful address.
दरवाज़ा बंद करो और चाबी मेरे पास छोड़ दो।
darvāzā band karo aur cābī mere pās choṛ do.
Close the door and leave the key with me. (familiar)
The omitted subject is understood as तुम from करो/दो. Stating तुम would add contrast or emphasis rather than merely completing the grammar.
Compound commands and final-vector marking
The familiar ending appears on the final vector verb, not on every verbal piece.
जाने से पहले टिकट देख लो।
jāne se pahle ṭikaṭ dekh lo.
Check the ticket before leaving. (familiar)
यह संदेश टीम को भेज दो।
yah sandeś ṭīm ko bhej do.
Send this message to the team. (familiar)
काम पूरा करके घर चले जाओ।
kām pūrā karke ghar cale jāo.
Finish the work and go home. (familiar)
In देख लो, lexical देख- combines with familiar लो; in भेज दो, दो adds an outward/completive contribution; in चले जाओ, जाओ presents departure or transition. The vector is not empty politeness. Replacing लो with दो can change who benefits from or is affected by the result.
चलो as “let's”
Familiar imperative चलो also has a conventional inclusive use meaning “come on, let's....” The understood group includes the speaker even though the form historically belongs to second-person address.
चलो, आज खाना बाहर खाते हैं।
calo, āj khānā bāhar khāte haiṃ.
Come on, let's eat out today.
चलो, अब इस मुद्दे पर बाद में बात करेंगे।
calo, ab is mudde par bād meṃ bāt kareṅge.
All right, let's discuss this issue later.
This discourse use is (informal) and common. It does not mean that every -ओ command automatically includes the speaker; दरवाज़ा खोलो still tells the addressee to open the door.
Negation and future-oriented admonitions
Use मत before the familiar imperative for a direct prohibition.
अभी फ़ोन मत करो; वह गाड़ी चला रही है।
abhī fon mat karo; vah gāṛī calā rahī hai.
Don't call right now; she is driving.
इन कागज़ों को मत फेंको।
in kāgazoṃ ko mat pheṅko.
Do not throw these papers away. (familiar)
The infinitive can form a distinct reminder or future-oriented instruction: कल समय पर आना “be sure to come on time tomorrow,” देर मत करना “don't be late.” These are valid constructions, often softer or less immediate than आओ/मत करो. They should not be mistaken for failed attempts at a finite imperative.
Commands versus request questions
खिड़की खोलो।
khiṛkī kholo.
Open the window. (familiar command)
क्या तुम खिड़की खोलोगी?
kyā tum khiṛkī khologī?
Will you open the window? (familiar question used as a request, female addressee)
The imperative is genderless. The question uses feminine future खोलोगी and can sound less direct. Adding क्या to खोलो does not create a special imperative conjugation; it changes how the whole utterance is framed.
Common Mistakes
Using the bare तू form with तुम
❌ तुम यहाँ बैठ।
Incorrect mixed paradigm — तुम requires बैठो.
✅ तुम यहाँ मेरे सामने बैठो।
tum yahā̃ mere sāmne baiṭho.
Sit here in front of me. (familiar)
Building uncontracted forms of देना and लेना
❌ यह फ़ाइल मुझे देओ और रसीद लेओ।
Incorrect — the standard familiar imperatives are दो and लो.
✅ यह फ़ाइल मुझे दो और रसीद लो।
yah fāil mujhe do aur rasīd lo.
Give me this file and take the receipt. (familiar)
Marking the command for feminine gender
❌ रीमा, यहाँ बैठी।
Incorrect as a direct familiar command — बैठी is not a feminine imperative.
✅ रीमा, यहाँ बैठो।
rīmā, yahā̃ baiṭho.
Reema, sit here. (familiar)
Adding the familiar copula after an imperative
❌ तुम मेरी बात सुनो हो।
Incorrect — सुनो is already a finite familiar imperative.
✅ तुम मेरी बात पूरी सुनो।
tum merī bāt pūrī suno.
Listen to everything I have to say. (familiar)
Assuming ज़रा makes a form respectful
❌ मैडम, ज़रा इधर आओ।
Inappropriately familiar in an ordinary professional interaction; ज़रा softens tone but आओ remains तुम-level.
✅ मैडम, ज़रा इधर आइए।
maiḍam, zarā idhar āie.
Ma'am, please come here a moment. (respectful)
Key Takeaways
- Consonant-final stems take familiar -ओ: करो, बोलो, बैठो.
- Learn the frequent vowel-stem forms जाओ, आओ, खाओ, लो, दो, पियो.
- The form is invariant for masculine/feminine and familiar singular/plural addressees.
- In a compound command, only the final vector bears the imperative form: देख लो, भेज दो, चले जाओ.
- चलो can conventionally introduce an inclusive “let's” proposal, but other -ओ commands remain addressee-directed.
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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.
- 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.
- तुम familiar youA1 — Use familiar तुम for one or more addressees with its characteristic agreement, case forms, commands, and social range.