The lexical stem of a regular Hindi verb is obtained by removing final -ना (-nā) from the infinitive: करना → कर-, लिखना → लिख-, जाना → जा-. The stem carries the verb's core meaning. Hindi then builds predicates by adding aspect, modality, person marking, or an auxiliary around that stem.
Remove the complete ending -ना
| Infinitive | Stem | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| करना | कर- | do |
| बोलना | बोल- | speak |
| लिखना | लिख- | write |
| समझना | समझ- | understand |
| जाना | जा- | go |
| आना | आ- | come |
| लेना | ले- | take |
| पीना | पी- | drink |
Remove both Devanagari elements न + ा, not just the final vowel sign. The written stem लिख is pronounced likh, not likha; ordinary final-schwa deletion applies. Spelling remains लिख, even though a following suffix will create forms such as लिखता.
Only remove the final infinitive ending. Earlier न sounds may belong to the root: सुनना → सुन- “hear,” पहचानना → पहचान- “recognize.” Related verbs can therefore yield different stems: बनना → बन- “become,” but causative/transitive बनाना → बना- “make.”
The stem inside a layered predicate
The stem does not normally equal a complete English tense. Compare layers built from पढ़-.
| Layer | Hindi | Contribution |
|---|---|---|
| stem | पढ़- | lexical meaning “read/study” |
| habitual | पढ़ता | habitual/imperfective viewpoint + masculine singular |
| finite habitual | पढ़ता हूँ | habitual + first-person present auxiliary |
| progressive | पढ़ रहा हूँ | ongoing event + agreement + auxiliary |
| ability | पढ़ सकता हूँ | ability + agreement + auxiliary |
मैं हर रात पढ़ता हूँ।
maĩ har rāt paṛhtā hū̃.
I study every night. (male speaker)
मैं अभी पढ़ रही हूँ।
maĩ abhī paṛh rahī hū̃.
I am studying right now. (female speaker)
The lexical stem is the same. -ता versus रही supplies aspect and gender, while हूँ supplies first-person present finiteness.
A compact habitual paradigm
| Subject | Masculine/mixed | Feminine |
|---|---|---|
| मैं | करता हूँ | करती हूँ |
| तुम | करते हो | करती हो |
| वह | करता है | करती है |
| हम | करते हैं | करती हैं |
| आप | करते हैं | करती हैं |
The stem कर- does not change. The participial ending tracks gender and number; हूँ/हो/है/हैं tracks person, number, and honorificity. A mixed-gender plural normally uses masculine plural करते हैं.
सीमा घर से काम करती है।
sīmā ghar se kām kartī hai.
Seema works from home.
मेरे भाई घर से काम करते हैं।
mere bhāī ghar se kām karte haiṃ.
My brothers work from home.
Where the bare stem appears
The stem itself is licensed in particular constructions. It forms the intimate singular imperative: कर! “do!”, जा! “go!” It also appears before modal or vector verbs: कर सकता है “can do,” देख लेना “make sure to see/take a look.”
यह संदेश पढ़ और मुझे फ़ोन कर।
yah sandeś paṛh aur mujhe fon kar.
Read this message and call me. (intimate)
मैं यह काम आज कर सकता हूँ।
maĩ yah kām āj kar saktā hū̃.
I can do this work today. (male speaker)
A bare stem is therefore grammatical, but only when the construction licenses it. It is not an all-purpose present form.
For a detailed map, see the bare stem in commands and compounds.
Compound predicates and borrowed material
In noun + करना predicates, remove -ना from the light verb, not from the noun: फ़ोन करना → फ़ोन कर-, डाउनलोड करना → डाउनलोड कर-. The borrowed or nominal element supplies lexical content, while कर- carries verbal morphology.
क्या तुम यह फ़ाइल डाउनलोड कर सकते हो?
kyā tum yah fāil ḍāunloḍ kar sakte ho?
Can you download this file? (familiar)
The modal सकते agrees with masculine familiar तुम; the English loan remains unchanged. This is productive in modern Hindi, but individual noun-verb combinations are still lexical choices.
Important irregular perfectives
Removing -ना reliably identifies the lexical stem, but it does not predict every later form. Several very common perfectives are irregular.
| Infinitive | Stem | Perfective masculine singular |
|---|---|---|
| करना | कर- | किया |
| जाना | जा- | गया |
| होना | हो- | हुआ |
| देना | दे- | दिया |
| लेना | ले- | लिया |
| पीना | पी- | पिया |
There is no honest shortcut: learn these high-frequency perfectives with the infinitive. The stem rule remains correct; the perfective formation rule is where irregularity enters.
Affirmative, negative, and question contrasts
तुम यहाँ काम करते हो।
tum yahā̃ kām karte ho.
You work here. (familiar, masculine)
तुम यहाँ काम नहीं करते हो।
tum yahā̃ kām nahīṃ karte ho.
You do not work here. (familiar, masculine)
क्या तुम यहाँ काम करते हो?
kyā tum yahā̃ kām karte ho?
Do you work here? (familiar, masculine)
Negation precedes the predicate, and a neutral yes-no question adds clause-initial क्या without changing the stem. The auxiliary remains in these careful full forms.
Common Mistakes
❌ ‘करना’ का मूल करन है।
Incorrect—remove the complete ending -ना, not only the final vowel.
✅ ‘करना’ का मूल कर है।
‘karnā’ kā mūl kar hai.
The stem of करना is कर.
❌ मैं रोज़ काम कर।
Incorrect as a statement—the bare stem is not a habitual present.
✅ मैं रोज़ काम करता हूँ।
maĩ roz kām kartā hū̃.
I work every day. (male speaker)
❌ सीमा रोज़ पढ़ता है।
Incorrect—habitual morphology and the auxiliary must agree with feminine Seema.
✅ सीमा रोज़ पढ़ती है।
sīmā roz paṛhtī hai.
Seema studies every day.
❌ हम घर से काम करते।
Incomplete as a neutral present statement—the auxiliary is required.
✅ हम घर से काम करते हैं।
ham ghar se kām karte haiṃ.
We work from home.
Key Takeaways
- Remove the complete -ना ending to recover the lexical stem.
- A stem may end in a consonant or vowel and feeds aspectual, modal, imperative, and compound constructions.
- Agreement morphology and auxiliaries form separate layers beyond the stem.
- Common perfectives such as किया, गया, हुआ, दिया, लिया, पिया must be learned as irregular forms.
Related Topics
- The infinitive in -nāA1 — Form Hindi infinitives with -ना and distinguish their citation, complement, verbal-noun, and agreeing obligation uses from finite predicates.
- Finite predicates and auxiliariesA1 — Build complete Hindi predicates by combining a lexical stem with aspect or modality, agreement morphology, and the appropriate finite auxiliary.
- Habitual participle formationA2 — Form the Hindi habitual participle from a verb stem plus -ता, -ती, or -ते and apply gender-number agreement before adding a finite auxiliary.
- The bare stem in commands and compoundsA1 — Recognize the Hindi verb stem without -ना and use it accurately in intimate commands, compound verbs, modal chains, and inflected forms.
- 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.