रहना (rahnaa)
verb
Core meaning is 'to live/reside' and 'to stay/remain'; this single root also powers several very common compound-verb constructions covered as separate senses below: perfect-participle + रहना (rahnaa) (a resulting state persists), imperfect-participle + रहना (rahnaa) (an action continues), and adjective + रहना (rahnaa) (a state persists).
Sense
1
:
to live, reside
verb, intransitive
Synonyms: बसना (basnaa, to settle/live), निवास करना (nivaas karnaa, formal)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is the go-to answer to आप कहाँ रहते हैं (aap kahaan rahte hain, 'where do you live') in everyday small talk, whether you mean your home city or your current flat -- Hindi doesn't bother distinguishing 'live' from 'reside' the way English sometimes does.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often reach for बसना (basnaa) when they simply mean 'to live somewhere'; बसना (basnaa) implies settling or making a home, whereas रहना (rahnaa) is the neutral everyday word for where you currently live. 2) With this sense, the location takes में (men) or पर (par), not पास (paas) -- मैं दिल्ली में रहता हूँ (main dillii men rahtaa hoon, 'I live in Delhi'), not मेरे पास (mere paas).
Sample Sentences:
आप कहाँ रहते हैं?
Where do you live?
(aap kahaan rahte hain?)
मैं दिल्ली में रहता हूँ।
I live in Delhi.
(main dillii men rahtaa hoon।)
पहले हम मुंबई में रहते थे।
We used to live in Mumbai before.
(pahle ham mumbaii men rahte the।)
वह पिछले साल लंदन में रहा।
He lived in London last year.
(vah pichhle saal landan men rahaa।)
अगले महीने से मैं अपने भाई के साथ रहूँगा।
From next month, I will live with my brother.
(agle mahiine se main apne bhaaii ke saath rahoongaa।)
तुम यहाँ रहो, बाहर मत जाना।
You live here, don't go outside.
(tum yahaan raho, baahar mat jaanaa।)
काश मैं गाँव में रहता, यहाँ शहर में तो बहुत भीड़ है।
I wish I lived in the village -- there is so much crowding here in the city.
(kaash main gaanv men rahtaa, yahaan shahar men to bahut bhiid hai।)
हो सकता है वह अब अमेरिका में रहता हो।
It's possible that he lives in America now.
(ho saktaa hai vah ab amerikaa men rahtaa ho।)
क्या आप हमेशा से इस शहर में रहते आए हैं?
Have you always lived in this city?
(kyaa aap hameshaa se is shahar men rahte aae hain?)
जहाँ वे रहते हैं, वहाँ की जलवायु बहुत सुहानी है।
Where they live, the climate there is very pleasant.
(jahaan ve rahte hain, vahaan kii jalvaayu bahut suhaanii hai।)
Sense
2
:
to stay, remain (in a place or condition)
verb, intransitive
Synonyms: ठहरना (thaharnaa, to stay/halt, especially temporarily)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You will hear this constantly in travel contexts -- होटल में रहना (hotal men rahnaa, 'to stay in a hotel') or यहीं रहो (yahiin raho, 'stay right here') -- it is the default verb for 'stay put' in both physical and situational senses.
Common Mistakes: 1) For a short stay (a hotel, a friend's place for a night), ठहरना (thaharnaa) often sounds more natural than रहना (rahnaa), which can imply a longer or more settled stay; both are heard, but learners should notice the difference in duration native speakers imply.
Sample Sentences:
यहीं रहो, मैं अभी आता हूँ।
Stay right here, I'm coming right back.
(yahiin raho, main abhii aataa hoon।)
हम होटल में रहे थे।
We had stayed in a hotel.
(ham hotal men rahe the।)
वह दिल्ली में सिर्फ दो दिन रहेगी।
She will stay in Delhi for only two days.
(vah dillii men sirph do din rahegii।)
मैं गर्मियों में अक्सर नानी के घर रहता हूँ।
I often stay at my grandmother's house in the summers.
(main garmiyon men aksar naanii ke ghar rahtaa hoon।)
अगर तुम यहाँ रहते तो अच्छा होता।
If you were to stay here, it would be good.
(agar tum yahaan rahte to achchhaa hotaa।)
कृपया लाइन में रहें।
Please stay in line.
(kripyaa laain men rahen।)
मुझे नहीं पता कि वह कहाँ रहेगा, शायद दफ़्तर में ही रहे।
I don't know where he'll stay, maybe he'll stay at the office itself.
(mujhe nahiin pataa ki vah kahaan rahegaa, shaayad daftar men hii rahe।)
इस कमरे में मरीज़ को रखा गया और उसे यहीं रहना पड़ा।
The patient was put in this room and had to stay right here.
(is kamre men mariiz ko rakhaa gayaa aur use yahiin rahnaa padaa।)
जब तक बारिश न रुके, हमें अंदर ही रहना चाहिए।
Until the rain stops, we should stay inside.
(jab tak baarish n ruke, hamen andar hii rahnaa chaahie।)
Sense
3
:
compound verb: adjective + रहना -- to remain/stay in a state
verb, intransitive Frame: [adjective] + रहना (rahnaa), e.g. चुप रहना (chup rahnaa, 'to stay quiet'), खुश रहना (khush rahnaa, 'to stay happy'), स्वस्थ रहना (svasth rahnaa, 'to stay healthy'). रहना (rahnaa) conjugates for tense/aspect; the adjective itself stays invariant here.
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is the frame behind classic parental commands like चुप रहो (chup raho, 'be quiet/stay quiet') and everyday well-wishes like खुश रहो (khush raho, 'stay happy') -- Hindi treats maintaining a state as something you actively 'stay' in, not just 'are'.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes insert होना (honaa) where रहना (rahnaa) is idiomatic -- चुप रहो (chup raho, 'stay quiet') is the natural command, not चुप होओ (chup hoo), which sounds like 'become quiet' rather than 'stay quiet'.
Sample Sentences:
चुप रहो, बच्चे सो रहे हैं।
Be quiet, the children are sleeping.
(chup raho, bachche so rahe hain।)
खुश रहो, हमेशा मुस्कुराते रहना।
Stay happy, always keep smiling.
(khush raho, hameshaa muskuraate rahnaa।)
वह हमेशा शांत रहता है, चाहे कुछ भी हो जाए।
He always stays calm, no matter what happens.
(vah hameshaa shaant rahtaa hai, chaahe kuchh bhii ho jaae।)
पिछले महीने वह बहुत बीमार रही थी।
Last month she stayed very sick.
(pichhle mahiine vah bahut biimaar rahii thii।)
उम्मीद है कि तुम स्वस्थ रहोगे।
I hope you will stay healthy.
(ummiid hai ki tum svasth rahoge।)
अगर तुम थोड़ा सावधान रहते, तो यह गलती नहीं होती।
If you had stayed a bit careful, this mistake wouldn't have happened.
(agar tum thodaa saavdhaan rahte, to yah galtii nahiin hotii।)
मैं चाहता हूँ कि तुम हमेशा ईमानदार रहो।
I want you to always stay honest.
(main chaahtaa hoon ki tum hameshaa iimaandaar raho।)
कृपया लाइन में अनुशासित रहें।
Please stay disciplined in the line.
(kripyaa laain men anushaasit rahen।)
इस मुश्किल दौर में भी वह सकारात्मक बनी रही।
Even in this difficult time, she stayed positive.
(is mushkil daur men bhii vah sakaaraatmak banii rahii।)
बच्चों को सुरक्षित रहना सिखाना ज़रूरी है।
It is important to teach children to stay safe.
(bachchon ko surakshit rahnaa sikhaanaa zaroorii hai।)
Sense
4
:
compound verb: perfect participle + रहना -- a completed action's resulting state persists
verb, intransitive Frame: [verb's perfect participle, -आ/-ई/-ए agreeing with subject] + रहना (rahnaa), e.g. सोया रहना (soyaa rahnaa, 'to remain/stay asleep', from सोना (sonaa)), पड़ी रहना (padii rahnaa, 'to stay lying somewhere', from पड़ना (padnaa)), बनी रहना (banii rahnaa, 'to remain/stay intact', from बनना (bannaa)). This describes the lingering result of a finished action, not an action still in progress.
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You will hear बनी रहना (banii rahnaa) often in warm wishes about relationships -- दोस्ती बनी रहे (dostii banii rahe, 'may the friendship stay intact') -- and पड़ा रहना (padaa rahnaa) about things (or people!) left lying around idly, sometimes with a scolding edge, as in वह दिन भर पड़ा रहता है (vah din bhar padaa rahtaa hai, 'he just lies around all day').
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners confuse this with the imperfect-participle + रहना (rahnaa) construction (e.g. बोलते रहना (bolte rahnaa), 'to keep talking'); सोया रहना (soyaa rahnaa) means 'to remain in the state of having fallen asleep', while a form like सोते रहना (sote rahnaa) would suggest repeated or ongoing sleeping, which is not how this construction is used in practice -- the perfect-participle version is about a persisting result, not a repeated action. 2) The participle must agree in gender/number with the subject, just as it would in a simple past tense -- किताब मेज़ पर पड़ी रही (kitaab mez par padii rahii, 'the book stayed lying on the table'), feminine to match किताब (kitaab).
Sample Sentences:
हमारी दोस्ती हमेशा बनी रहे।
May our friendship always stay intact.
(hamaarii dostii hameshaa banii rahe।)
वह दिन भर पड़ा रहता है, कुछ काम नहीं करता।
He just lies around all day, doesn't do any work.
(vah din bhar padaa rahtaa hai, kuchh kaam nahiin kartaa।)
दरवाज़ा खुला रह गया था।
The door had been left open.
(darvaazaa khulaa rah gayaa thaa।)
उसका सामान स्टेशन पर पड़ा रह गया।
His luggage got left lying at the station.
(uskaa saamaan steshan par padaa rah gayaa।)
अगर वह ज़रा ध्यान देता तो रिश्ता बना रहता।
If he had paid a little attention, the relationship would have stayed intact.
(agar vah zaraa dhyaan detaa to rishtaa banaa rahtaa।)
खाना मत छोड़ो, वरना बचा रह जाएगा।
Don't skip the meal, or else it'll be left uneaten.
(khaanaa mat chhodo, varnaa bachaa rah jaaegaa।)
उम्मीद है कि उनका प्यार हमेशा बना रहे।
I hope their love stays intact forever.
(ummiid hai ki unkaa pyaar hameshaa banaa rahe।)
किताबें मेज़ पर बिखरी रहती हैं।
The books remain scattered on the table.
(kitaaben mez par bikhrii rahtii hain।)
उसकी फ़ाइल यूँ ही पड़ी रह गई, किसी ने नहीं देखी।
His file just stayed lying there, no one looked at it.
(uskii faail yoon hii padii rah gaii, kisii ne nahiin dekhii।)
यह परंपरा सदियों से बनी रही है।
This tradition has remained intact for centuries.
(yah parampraa sadiyon se banii rahii hai।)
Sense
5
:
compound verb: imperfect participle + रहना -- an action continues or keeps happening
verb, intransitive Frame: [verb's imperfect participle, -ता/-ती/-ते agreeing with subject] + रहना (rahnaa), e.g. बोलते रहना (bolte rahnaa, 'to keep on talking'), चलते रहना (chalte rahnaa, 'to keep walking/going'), सोचती रहना (sochtii rahnaa, 'to keep thinking', feminine subject). This marks an ongoing, habitual, or repeated continuation of the action itself, in contrast to the perfect-participle sense above which marks a persisting result.
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is the natural way to say someone 'kept on' doing something -- वह हँसता रहा (vah hanstaa rahaa, 'he kept laughing') -- and it pairs especially well with habitual advice or complaints, like तुम खाते रहते हो (tum khaate rahte ho, 'you keep eating/you're always eating').
Common Mistakes: 1) Do not swap in the perfect participle here -- रोता रहा (rotaa rahaa, 'kept crying') describes ongoing crying, while रोया रहा (royaa rahaa) is not idiomatic in the same way, since crying doesn't leave a lingering 'completed' state the way sleeping or lying down does. 2) The participle agrees with the subject in gender/number, but रहना (rahnaa) itself carries the tense -- वह बोलती रहती है (vah boltii rahtii hai, 'she keeps talking' as a habitual trait) versus वह बोलती रही (vah boltii rahii, 'she kept talking' in that one instance).
Sample Sentences:
वह पूरे रास्ते हँसता रहा।
He kept laughing the whole way.
(vah poore raaste hanstaa rahaa।)
तुम खाते रहते हो, कभी रुकते नहीं।
You keep eating, you never stop.
(tum khaate rahte ho, kabhii rukte nahiin।)
मैं काम करता रहूँगा, चाहे कोई मदद करे या न करे।
I will keep working, whether anyone helps or not.
(main kaam kartaa rahoongaa, chaahe koii madad kare yaa n kare।)
बच्चे शोर मचाते रहे और माँ चिल्लाती रही।
The children kept making noise and the mother kept shouting.
(bachche shor machaate rahe aur maan chillaatii rahii।)
तुम बोलते रहो, मैं सुन रहा हूँ।
Keep talking, I'm listening.
(tum bolte raho, main sun rahaa hoon।)
अगर वह ऐसे ही बहस करता रहता तो झगड़ा बढ़ जाता।
If he had kept arguing like that, the fight would have escalated.
(agar vah aise hii bahas kartaa rahtaa to jhagdaa badh jaataa।)
क्या तुम रात भर पढ़ते रहे?
Did you keep studying all night?
(kyaa tum raat bhar padhte rahe?)
यह ज़रूरी है कि आप कोशिश करते रहें।
It is necessary that you keep trying.
(yah zaroorii hai ki aap koshish karte rahen।)
कीमतें बढ़ती रहती हैं, कोई नियंत्रण नहीं है।
Prices just keep rising, there is no control.
(kiimten badhtii rahtii hain, koii niyantran nahiin hai।)
जब तक साँस चलती रहेगी, वह लड़ता रहेगा।
As long as he breathes, he will keep fighting.
(jab tak saans chaltii rahegii, vah ladtaa rahegaa।)
Sense
6
:
to be left over, remain (of a quantity or remainder)
verb, intransitive Often used with a को-marked or possessive-marked experiencer to express what someone 'has left' -- मेरे पास कुछ पैसे रह गए (mere paas kuchh paise rah gae, 'I had some money left').
Synonyms: बचना (bachnaa, to be saved/left over)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: Common in everyday accounting of leftovers, time, or unfinished business -- कितना काम रह गया है (kitnaa kaam rah gayaa hai, 'how much work is left') is a classic question at the end of a busy day.
Common Mistakes: 1) बचना (bachnaa) and रहना (rahnaa) overlap here, but रह जाना (rah jaanaa) (with जाना (jaanaa)) is far more common in speech for 'ended up remaining' than plain रहना (rahnaa) alone -- learners should expect to hear this compounded form more often than the bare verb in this sense.
Sample Sentences:
कितना काम रह गया है?
How much work is left?
(kitnaa kaam rah gayaa hai?)
खाना ज़्यादा बना था, बहुत सा रह गया।
Too much food was made, a lot was left over.
(khaanaa zyaadaa banaa thaa, bahut saa rah gayaa।)
अब सिर्फ दो दिन रहे हैं परीक्षा में।
Now only two days remain until the exam.
(ab sirph do din rahe hain pariikshaa men।)
उसके पास इतने पैसे भी नहीं रहते कि किराया दे सके।
He doesn't even have enough money left to pay the rent.
(uske paas itne paise bhii nahiin rahte ki kiraayaa de sake।)
जब सारा हिसाब हो गया, तो बस सौ रुपये रह गए।
When the whole accounting was done, only a hundred rupees were left.
(jab saaraa hisaab ho gayaa, to bas sau rupye rah gae।)
अगर तुम थोड़ी मिठाई बचा लेते, तो कुछ तो रहती मेरे लिए।
If you had saved a little sweet, at least something would have been left for me.
(agar tum thodii mithaaii bachaa lete, to kuchh to rahtii mere lie।)
देखना, कहीं कोई काम अधूरा न रह जाए।
Watch out that no work is left unfinished.
(dekhnaa, kahiin koii kaam adhooraa n rah jaae।)
महीने के आखिर तक तनख्वाह का कुछ भी नहीं रहता।
By the end of the month, nothing of the salary remains.
(mahiine ke aakhir tak tanakhvaah kaa kuchh bhii nahiin rahtaa।)
Morphology
Verb
infinitive:
रहना
(rahnaa)
infinitive oblique:
रहने
(rahne)
habitual/simple (sg.m):
रहता
(rahtaa)
habitual/simple (pl.m):
रहते
(rahte)
habitual/simple (sg.f):
रहती
(rahtii)
habitual/simple (pl.f):
रहतीं
(rahtiin)
continuous (sg.m):
रह रहा
(rah rahaa)
continuous (pl.m):
रह रहे
(rah rahe)
continuous (sg.f):
रह रही
(rah rahii)
continuous (pl.f):
रह रहीं
(rah rahiin)
perfective (sg.m):
रहा
(rahaa)
perfective (pl.m):
रहे
(rahe)
perfective (sg.f):
रही
(rahii)
perfective (pl.f):
रहीं
(rahiin)
imperative (informal):
रह
(rah)
imperative (neutral):
रहो
(raho)
imperative (formal):
रहिए
(rahie)
future (1sg.m):
रहूँगा
(rahoongaa)
future (1sg.f):
रहूँगी
(rahoongii)
future (1pl.m):
रहेंगे
(rahenge)
future (1pl.f):
रहेंगी
(rahengii)
future (2sg.m):
रहेगा
(rahegaa)
future (2sg.f):
रहेगी
(rahegii)
future (2pl.m):
रहोगे
(rahoge)
future (2pl.f):
रहोगी
(rahogii)
future (3sg.m):
रहेगा
(rahegaa)
future (3sg.f):
रहेगी
(rahegii)
future (3pl.m):
रहेंगे
(rahenge)
future (3pl.f):
रहेंगी
(rahengii)
subjunctive (1sg):
रहूँ
(rahoon)
subjunctive (1pl):
रहें
(rahen)
subjunctive (2sg):
रहे
(rahe)
subjunctive (2pl):
रहो
(raho)
subjunctive (3sg):
रहे
(rahe)
subjunctive (3pl):
रहें
(rahen)