जागना
jāgnā/d͡ʒɑːɡ.nɑː/
The Hindi verb for wake up is जागना (jāgnā). It means to become awake, to stop sleeping.
जागना describes the change from sleep to being awake, as in what time do you wake up. To tell someone to wake up in a casual setting, people say जाग जाओ.
Meaning: to (become) awake (verb)
Which one should you use?
While जागना means to become awake, उठना is the specific verb for the physical act of getting out of bed. In commands both appear, as Utho and Jaag jao.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb changes with tense and gender. With a masculine subject the past is जाग गया. The continuous form for a feminine subject is जाग रही है.
How do you pronounce it?
Say it as jāgnā, IPA /dʒɑːɡ.nɑː/, in two syllables, with a j as in English jam and a hard g.
Did you know?
- The word जागना has a complex family of related verbs, including जगवाना, which specifically means to cause someone else to be woken up by a third party.
- Because of historical Persian influence, you might hear the word बेदार ('bedār') used to describe an 'awake' person in more poetic or formal Hindi.
- In Hindi, जागना can be used metaphorically to describe a sudden realization or a political awakening, similar to the English phrase 'waking up to the truth'.
Examples in context
- वह कब जागता है?When does he [usually] wake up?जागता है is the habitual present, for what someone usually does.
- सर, आपने सात बजे के लिए उठाने का आग्रह किया थाSir, you requested a wake-up call for 7 am.
- मैं सुबह जल्दी जागना चाहता हूँ।main subah jaldi jaagna chahta hoon.I want to wake up early in the morning.
Example conversation
Aditya and Anjali are talking about their morning routine.
- आदित्य Adityaक्या तुम जल्दी जागना पसंद करती हो?kya tum jaldi jaagna pasand karti ho?Do you like waking up early?
- अंजलि Anjaliनहीं, मुझे देर से जागना अच्छा लगता है।nahin, mujhe der se jaagna accha lagta hai.No, I like waking up late.
- आदित्य Adityaपर जल्दी जागना स्वास्थ्य के लिए अच्छा है।par jaldi jaagna swasthya ke liye accha hai.But waking up early is good for health.
- अंजलि Anjaliहाँ, आदित्य, तुम सही कह रहे हो।haan, aaditya, tum sahi kah rahe ho.Yes, Aditya, you are right.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “wake up” translations and entries जागना, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries जागना, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0.
