पाना (paanaa)
verb
Core meaning is 'to get/obtain' (मौका पाना (maukaa paanaa, 'to get a chance')); it also means 'to find someone/something in a state' in a slightly literary register, and -- most importantly for daily speech -- attaches to a verb stem (V+पाना) to mean 'to manage to,' reporting success or failure against some obstacle.
Sense
1
:
to obtain, get, receive, attain
verb, transitive
Synonyms: प्राप्त करना (praapt karnaa, formal), हासिल करना (haasil karnaa)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: पाना (paanaa) shows up constantly in devotional and filmi language for things you long for or strive toward -- मोक्ष पाना (moksh paanaa, 'to attain liberation'), प्यार पाना (pyaar paanaa, 'to receive/win love') -- so it carries a slightly more heartfelt, aspirational color than a flat 'get,' even though it's used for ordinary objects too.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often reach for मिलना (milnaa) and पाना (paanaa) interchangeably, but मिलना puts the recipient in the को-marked dative role ('मुझे मौका मिला', mujhe maukaa milaa, 'I got a chance,' literally 'a chance came to me'), while पाना makes the recipient the active subject who obtains something -- 'मैंने मौका पाया' (mainne maukaa paayaa) sounds more deliberate/earned.
Sample Sentences:
मुझे इस नौकरी में बहुत सम्मान मिलता है।
I get a lot of respect in this job.
(mujhe is naukrii men bahut sammaan miltaa hai।)
उसने कड़ी मेहनत से यह मुकाम पाया।
She attained this position through hard work.
(usne kadii mehnat se yah mukaam paayaa।)
साधु सालों की तपस्या के बाद मोक्ष पाता है।
The ascetic attains liberation after years of penance.
(saadhu saalon kii tapasyaa ke baad moksh paataa hai।)
काश मुझे उसका सच्चा प्यार पाने का मौका मिलता।
If only I had gotten the chance to receive her true love.
(kaash mujhe uskaa sachchaa pyaar paane kaa maukaa miltaa।)
अगली परीक्षा में अच्छे अंक पाओ, तो पार्टी होगी।
Get good marks in the next exam, and there'll be a party.
(aglii pariikshaa men achchhe ank paao, to paartii hogii।)
भगवान से यही प्रार्थना है कि हमें शांति प्राप्त हो।
My only prayer to God is that we may attain peace.
(bhagvaan se yahii praarthnaa hai ki hamen shaanti praapt ho।)
इस प्रतियोगिता में विजेता को एक लाख रुपये का पुरस्कार पाया जाएगा।
In this competition, the winner will receive a prize of one lakh rupees.
(is pratiyogitaa men vijetaa ko ek laakh rupye kaa puraskaar paayaa jaaegaa।)
मुझे यकीन नहीं होता कि मुझे इतनी बड़ी सफलता मिली है।
I can't believe I have received such great success.
(mujhe yakiin nahiin hotaa ki mujhe itnii badii saphaltaa milii hai।)
अगर वह और मेहनत करता तो उसे स्कॉलरशिप मिल जाती।
If he had worked harder, he would have gotten the scholarship.
(agar vah aur mehnat kartaa to use skolarship mil jaatii।)
भक्त निरंतर भजन गाकर ईश्वर की कृपा पाने की कामना करते हैं।
Devotees, singing hymns continuously, wish to receive God's grace.
(bhakt nirantar bhajan gaakar iishvar kii kripaa paane kii kaamnaa karte hain।)
Sense
2
:
to manage to, succeed in (doing something despite an obstacle)
verb, intransitive Formed as verb-stem + पाना (paanaa) -- जा पाना (jaa paanaa), कर पाना (kar paanaa), चल पाना (chal paanaa) -- and reports whether the subject actually pulled off the action against some resistance (traffic, illness, other commitments, etc.), not mere permission or general capability like सकना (saknaa). It appears overwhelmingly in negative, past, or question forms, and sounds odd as a bare affirmative present-tense claim.
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This construction is the backbone of daily excuses in Delhi -- मैं समय पर नहीं पहुँच पाया (main samay par nahiin pahunch paayaa, 'I couldn't manage to get there on time') is the classic traffic-jam apology. It carries a flavor of 'I wanted to, but something got in the way,' making it more emotionally loaded than the neutral सकना (saknaa).
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners substitute सकना (saknaa) where पाना is more natural: वह नहीं आ पाया (vah nahiin aa paayaa, 'he couldn't manage to come') suggests something specifically got in his way, while वह नहीं आ सका (vah nahiin aa sakaa) just states a neutral inability -- native speakers reach for पाना when describing a real-life failure against circumstance. 2) Learners try flat affirmative present tense like मैं कर पाता हूँ, which sounds unnatural -- this construction lives mainly in negative, past, or interrogative sentences.
Sample Sentences:
मैं समय पर नहीं पहुँच पाया।
I couldn't manage to get there on time.
(main samay par nahiin pahunch paayaa।)
वह इतना शोर था कि मैं सो नहीं पा रही थी।
There was so much noise that I wasn't managing to sleep.
(vah itnaa shor thaa ki main so nahiin paa rahii thii।)
क्या तुम कल तक यह काम पूरा कर पाओगे?
Will you manage to finish this work by tomorrow?
(kyaa tum kal tak yah kaam pooraa kar paaoge?)
अगर ट्रैफिक न होता तो मैं समय पर पहुँच पाता।
If there hadn't been traffic, I would have managed to arrive on time.
(agar traiphik n hotaa to main samay par pahunch paataa।)
वह हर बार वादा करता है, पर कभी निभा नहीं पाता।
He promises every time, but he never manages to keep it.
(vah har baar vaadaa kartaa hai, par kabhii nibhaa nahiin paataa।)
इतनी मुश्किलों के बावजूद वे अपना सपना पूरा कर पाए।
Despite so many difficulties, they managed to fulfill their dream.
(itnii mushkilon ke baavjood ve apnaa sapnaa pooraa kar paae।)
उम्मीद है कि हम इस परियोजना को समय पर पूरा कर पाएँ।
I hope we manage to complete this project on time.
(ummiid hai ki ham is pariyojnaa ko samay par pooraa kar paaen।)
बीमारी की वजह से वह परीक्षा में शामिल नहीं हो पाई।
Because of her illness, she couldn't manage to take part in the exam.
(biimaarii kii vajah se vah pariikshaa men shaamil nahiin ho paaii।)
यह समस्या इतनी उलझी हुई थी कि उससे सुलझाई नहीं जा पाई।
The problem was so tangled that it couldn't be managed to be solved by him.
(yah samasyaa itnii uljhii huii thii ki usse suljhaaii nahiin jaa paaii।)
बेटा, ध्यान से सीढ़ियाँ चढ़ना, गिर मत जाना, वरना दोबारा उठ नहीं पाओगे।
Son, climb the stairs carefully, don't fall, or else you won't manage to get up again.
(betaa, dhyaan se siidhiyaan chadhnaa, gir mat jaanaa, varnaa dobaaraa uth nahiin paaoge।)
उस कठिन दौर में भी वह अपने परिवार को सहारा दे पाया, यह कम बड़ी बात नहीं थी।
Even in that difficult time, he managed to support his family -- that was no small thing.
(us kathin daur men bhii vah apne parivaar ko sahaaraa de paayaa, yah kam badii baat nahiin thii।)
Sense
3
:
to find (someone or something in a particular state)
verb, transitive Takes a participial complement describing the state discovered, typically V+ता/ते हुआ or a perfective form: मैंने उसे रोते हुए पाया (mainne use rote hue paayaa, 'I found him crying'), मैंने उसे सोते पाया (mainne use sote paayaa, 'I found him sleeping').
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: This 'find' sense turns up often in storytelling -- novels, memoirs, even news reports -- where a narrator describes stumbling on a scene; it gives prose a slightly formal, descriptive touch rather than the plain-spoken feel of देखना (dekhnaa).
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners default to देखना (dekhnaa) for 'I found him crying,' but देखना is neutral 'saw/watched,' while पाना (paanaa) here implies an element of discovery or surprise, and reads as more literary/narrative than conversational.
Sample Sentences:
जब मैं घर पहुँचा, तो मैंने दरवाज़ा खुला पाया।
When I reached home, I found the door open.
(jab main ghar pahunchaa, to mainne darvaazaa khulaa paayaa।)
कमरे में जाकर उसने अपनी माँ को सोया हुआ पाया।
Going into the room, she found her mother asleep.
(kamre men jaakar usne apnii maan ko soyaa huaa paayaa।)
डॉक्टरों ने मरीज़ को होश में पाया।
The doctors found the patient conscious.
(doktron ne mariiz ko hosh men paayaa।)
पुलिस ने घर को खाली पाया।
The police found the house empty.
(pulis ne ghar ko khaalii paayaa।)
जांच में अधिकारियों ने रिकॉर्ड को अधूरा पाया।
During the investigation, the officials found the records incomplete.
(jaanch men adhikaariyon ne rikord ko adhooraa paayaa।)
अगर तुम अभी वहाँ जाओ, तो शायद उसे रोते हुए पाओ।
If you go there now, you might find him crying.
(agar tum abhii vahaan jaao, to shaayad use rote hue paao।)
जब हम लौटे, हमने बगीचे को उजड़ा पाया।
When we returned, we found the garden ruined.
(jab ham laute, hamne bagiiche ko ujdaa paayaa।)
उसकी डायरी पढ़कर मुझे उसकी ज़िंदगी बहुत उलझी हुई पाई गई।
Reading her diary, her life was found to be very tangled.
(uskii daayrii padhkar mujhe uskii zindgii bahut uljhii huii paaii gaii।)
काश मैं उसे वहाँ खुश पाता।
I wish I had found him happy there.
(kaash main use vahaan khush paataa।)
Morphology
Verb
infinitive:
पाना
(paanaa)
infinitive oblique:
पाने
(paane)
habitual/simple (sg.m):
पाता
(paataa)
habitual/simple (pl.m):
पाते
(paate)
habitual/simple (sg.f):
पाती
(paatii)
habitual/simple (pl.f):
पातीं
(paatiin)
continuous (sg.m):
पा रहा
(paa rahaa)
continuous (pl.m):
पा रहे
(paa rahe)
continuous (sg.f):
पा रही
(paa rahii)
continuous (pl.f):
पा रहीं
(paa rahiin)
perfective (sg.m):
पाया
(paayaa)
perfective (pl.m):
पाए
(paae)
perfective (sg.f):
पाई
(paaii)
perfective (pl.f):
पाईं
(paaiin)
imperative (informal):
पा
(paa)
imperative (neutral):
पाओ
(paao)
imperative (formal):
पाइए
(paaie)
future (1sg.m):
पाऊँगा
(paaoongaa)
future (1sg.f):
पाऊँगी
(paaoongii)
future (1pl.m):
पाएँगे
(paaenge)
future (1pl.f):
पाएँगी
(paaengii)
future (2sg.m):
पाएगा
(paaegaa)
future (2sg.f):
पाएगी
(paaegii)
future (2pl.m):
पाओगे
(paaoge)
future (2pl.f):
पाओगी
(paaogii)
future (3sg.m):
पाएगा
(paaegaa)
future (3sg.f):
पाएगी
(paaegii)
future (3pl.m):
पाएँगे
(paaenge)
future (3pl.f):
पाएँगी
(paaengii)
subjunctive (1sg):
पाऊँ
(paaoon)
subjunctive (1pl):
पाएँ
(paaen)
subjunctive (2sg):
पाए
(paae)
subjunctive (2pl):
पाओ
(paao)
subjunctive (3sg):
पाए
(paae)
subjunctive (3pl):
पाएँ
(paaen)