Ways to say it
| Hindi | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| बात करना | bāt karnā | /bɑːt̪ kəɾ.nɑː/ (Hindi, Standard) |
| बोलना | bolnā | /boːl.nɑː/ (Hindi, Standard) |
Use बात करना when referring to having a conversation or interacting with someone. Use बोलना when you want to express the act of speaking, uttering words or the ability to speak a specific language, such as speaking Hindi.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase बात करना is a compound verb. It consists of the noun बात, which means talk or matter and the verb करना, which means to do.
Which one should you use?
बात करना is used for the social act of having a conversation or talking with another person. In contrast, बोलना focuses on the physical act of speaking or the ability to say words.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When using the compound verb बात करना in the past tense, it conjugates based on the auxiliary verb करना. For example, you might use बात की to mean talked (feminine).
How do you pronounce it?
bāt karnā (IPA: /bɑːt̪ kəɾ.nɑː/)
Did you know?
- Because बात (bāt) is a feminine noun, the past tense of बात करना (bāt karnā) uses the feminine marker की (kī) regardless of the speaker's gender.
- The verb करना (karnā), used in बात करना, is a distant relative of the English word 'do' through a shared Proto-Indo-European ancestor.
- The verb बोलना (bolnā) has a causal form बोलवाना (bolvānā), which means to make or force someone else to speak.
Examples in context
- वह बोलना चाहता है।He wants to talk.This sentence uses बोलना to express a desire to talk.Tatoeba #13689082 by sabretou, translation #12817569 by Ussis
- वे बात करना चाहते हैं।They want to talk.This sentence uses बात करना to express a desire to talk.Tatoeba #2079053 by sabretou, translation #2011376 by CK
- वह बोलना शुरू करती है।She starts to talk.This sentence uses बोलना to describe the start of speaking.Tatoeba #13688172 by sabretou, translation #8783968 by jimkillock
- सभा में वार्तालाप करने का समय क्या है?What is the time for discussing in the meeting?
- आज मैंने अपने दोस्त से बात की।Today, I talked with my friend.
- कल रात कुछ देर तक हम बातचीत कर रहे थे।Last night, we were chatting for a while.
- 20 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Pooja and Rahul meet in the hallway.
- पूजा Poojaराहुल, क्या आप मुझसे बात करना चाहते हैं?Rahul, kya aap mujhse baat karna chahte hain?Rahul, do you want to talk to me?
- राहुल Rahulहाँ, मुझे आपसे कुछ बात करना है।Haan, mujhe aapse kuch baat karna hai.Yes, I need to talk to you about something.
- पूजा Poojaठीक है, चलिए बाहर चलकर बात करते हैं।Theek hai, chaliye baahar chalkar baat karte hain.Okay, let's go outside and talk.
- राहुल Rahulहाँ, वह जगह ज्यादा शांत है।Haan, vah jagah zyada shaant hai.Yes, that place is quieter.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “talk” translations and entries बात करना, बोलना, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries करना, बात, बोलना, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
