लड़की बतख देखती है।

The basic word order is Subject–Object–Verb (SOV), which is very common in Hindi.

• लड़की = the girl
• बतख = the duck
• देखती है = sees / is seeing

So literally, the sentence is structured like:

girl duck sees

Even though English uses Subject–Verb–Object, Hindi usually puts the verb at the end.

देखती is used because the subject, लड़की, is feminine singular.

In Hindi, the verb often agrees with the subject in gender and number in this kind of present habitual sentence.

• masculine singular: देखता है
• feminine singular: देखती है
• masculine plural: देखते हैं
• feminine plural: देखती हैं (in many contexts)

Since लड़की means girl and is grammatically feminine, देखती है is the correct form.

देखती है is the present habitual form of the verb देखना (to see / to look at / to watch, depending on context).

In many beginner translations, it is rendered as:

• sees
• looks at
• sometimes is looking at, depending on context

Grammatically, it is built like this:

• देख- = verb stem
• -ती = feminine singular habitual participle ending
• है = auxiliary verb is

So देखती है literally has the sense of does seeing or is in the habit of seeing, but in normal English you usually just say sees.

Hindi usually does not use articles like English a, an, and the.

So:

• लड़की can mean a girl or the girl
• बतख can mean a duck or the duck

The exact meaning depends on context.

That means लड़की बतख देखती है could be understood as:

• The girl sees a duck
• A girl sees the duck
• The girl sees the duck

Usually the surrounding conversation tells you which one is intended.

Great question. Hindi often uses को to mark a direct object, especially when the object is:

• specific
• animate
• a person
• or being especially emphasized

But को is not always required.

Here, बतख appears without को, which is completely natural. Since duck is an animal and the sentence is simple and general, leaving out को is very normal.

You might also hear:

• लड़की बतख को देखती है।

This is also possible, and it can make the object feel a bit more definite or marked.

So both can occur, but बतख without को is not wrong at all.

बतख is generally treated as a feminine noun in Hindi.

However, in this sentence, that does not affect the verb, because the verb is agreeing with लड़की (the subject), not with बतख.

So even if you know बतख is feminine, the reason we get देखती है is still because लड़की is feminine.

Because of both word order and verb agreement.

1. लड़की comes first, which strongly suggests it is the subject.
2. देखती है is feminine singular, matching लड़की.
3. बतख comes before the verb as the object.

So the sentence is understood as:

The girl sees the duck, not The duck sees the girl.

If you switched the nouns, the meaning would usually switch too:

• बतख लड़की देखती है would sound unusual or marked, but could suggest The duck sees the girl if the context supported it.

A helpful approximate pronunciation is:

luhR-kee

A bit more carefully:

• लड़ has the retroflex ड़, which is different from a plain English d
• की sounds like kee

So लड़की is approximately luh-rkee or lud-kee, but the most important part for learners is noticing that ड़ is a special Hindi sound.

A rough pronunciation is:

but-ukh or but-kh

More specifically:

• ब = b
• त = a dental t
• ख = an aspirated kh sound, like a strong breath after k

The final ख is not exactly like English k. It has a breathy release.

है is the auxiliary verb, meaning is.

In this kind of sentence, Hindi commonly uses:

• a main verb form like देखता / देखती / देखते
• plus an auxiliary like है / हैं

So:

• देखती है = feminine singular habitual present

Without है, the sentence would sound incomplete in standard Hindi.

Yes, depending on context, English may translate it that way.

Technically, देखती है is the habitual/simple present form, so the most straightforward translation is The girl sees the duck or The girl looks at the duck.

But in real usage, simple Hindi present forms can sometimes overlap with English present meanings depending on context. Still, if you specifically want is looking at, Hindi often uses a progressive form such as:

• लड़की बतख देख रही है।

So for beginners, it is best to learn:

• देखती है = sees / looks at
• देख रही है = is looking at

If the subject were boy instead of girl, you would say:

• लड़का बतख देखता है।

Here:

• लड़का = boy
• देखता है = masculine singular sees

So the only major change is the verb agreement:

• लड़की ... देखती है
• लड़का ... देखता है

Yes. If you want to make a duck or a girl more explicit, you can use एक (one / a).

For example:

• लड़की एक बतख देखती है। = The girl sees a duck.
• एक लड़की बतख देखती है। = A girl sees a duck.

Since Hindi does not require articles, एक is only used when you want to make the indefiniteness clearer or emphasize one.

Yes, it is a complete, grammatical, and natural simple sentence.

It is a very typical beginner-style example because it clearly shows:

• subject: लड़की
• object: बतख
• verb at the end: देखती है
• feminine agreement with the subject

So it is a good model for learning basic Hindi sentence structure.