पढ़ना
paṛhnā/pəɽʱ.nɑː/
The Hindi verb for read is पढ़ना (paṛhnā). It is used for reading text and also for studying a subject.
पढ़ना covers reading a book, a letter or a sign. It also means to study, so a student is said to read at school or university.
Meaning: to look at and interpret letters or other information (verb)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The stem पढ़ takes endings for tense and gender. In the present habitual a male subject takes पढ़ता है and a female subject पढ़ती है. The past tense is पढ़ा (paṛhā) for masculine and पढ़ी (paṛhī) for feminine.
How do you pronounce it?
Say it as paṛhnā, IPA /pəɽʱ.nɑː/. The ṛh is a flap made by curling the tongue back and striking the roof of the mouth, followed by a breath of air.
Did you know?
- The word पढ़ना shares its deep roots with the Sanskrit word पृथ् (pṛth), which relates to the idea of spreading out or dividing, much like spreading out information to be read.
- While पढ़ना means to read, adding a single vowel sound transforms it into पढ़ाना, which means to teach someone else how to read.
- The phrase पढ़ना लिखना literally translates to 'reading writing' and is used as a single compound term to refer to the concept of literacy.
Examples in context
- आज मैने किताब पढ़ी।Today I read a book.पढ़ी is feminine here because it agrees with किताब, book.
- जरा और जौर से पढ़ो कि हमको भी सुनाई दे।Read a little louder so that we can also hear.पढ़ो is the familiar command, read.
- टॉम को पढ़ना नहीं आता।Tom isn't able to read.पढ़ना नहीं आता means does not know how to read.Tatoeba #3638841 by sabretou, translation #3410833 by CK
- कृपया इस पुस्तक को पढ़ें।Please read this book.
- आज क्या पढ़ रहे हो?What are you reading today?
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Vikas and Neha are in a library.
- विकास Vikasक्या तुम यह किताब पढ़ना चाहोगी?Kya tum yeh kitab padhna chahogi?Would you like to read this book?
- नेहा Nehaहाँ, मुझे पढ़ना बहुत पसंद है।Haan, mujhe padhna bahut pasand hai.Yes, I love to read.
- विकास Vikasइसे पढ़ना शुरू करो।Ise padhna shuru karo.Start reading it.
- नेहा Nehaठीक है, मैं अभी पढ़ती हूँ।Thik hai, main abhi padhti hoon.Okay, I will read it now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “read” translations and entries पढ़ना, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries पढ़ना, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0, Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
