सकना
saknā/sək.nɑː/
To say can in Hindi, use the verb सकना (saknā) after the main verb. A more formal phrase is समर्थ होना (samarth honā). If unsure, use सकना.
Meaning: to be able to, to know how to (verb)
Ways to say it
| Hindi | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| सकना | saknā | /sək.nɑː/ (Hindi, Standard) |
| समर्थ होना | samarth honā | /sə.məɾt̪ʰ ɦoː.nɑː/ (Hindi, Standard, word by word) |
सकना means to be able to. It is mostly used as a helping verb after the main verb to show ability or possibility, not as a verb on its own.
Which one should you use?
सकना is the common word for general ability. समर्थ होना is more formal and stresses being capable or competent at a task.
How does it change in a sentence?
सकना agrees with the subject in gender and number. A man says सकता हूँ for I can, and a woman says सकती हूँ. The form सकते हैं is used for plural subjects or to show respect to one person.
How do you pronounce it?
Say it as saknā. The IPA is /sək.nɑː/, two syllables.
Did you know?
- The root of सकना traces back to the Proto-Indo-European word *ḱek-, meaning the way a Hindi speaker says 'can' is connected to the earliest ancestors of English.
- The formal version of 'can' uses the verb होना (honā), which is highly 'suppletive'. This means its forms for 'is', 'was', and 'became' look like completely different words rather than just different endings.
- The formal phrase समर्थ होना blends two different linguistic layers by pairing a high-register Sanskrit loanword with the everyday verb for 'to be'.
Examples in context
- मैं अपने आप कर सकता हूँ!I can do it by myself!Here कर सकता हूँ means I can do, said by a male speaker.
- क्या मैं अगले हफ्ते के लिए एक दिन की छुट्टी ले सकता हूँ?Can I take a day off next week?
- मैं आज थोड़ा देर बाद आ सकता हूँ।I can come a little later today.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “can” translations and entries सकना, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (समर्थ, होना) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries सकना, समर्थ, होना, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0.
