दिखाई देना (dikhaaii denaa)
verb
A compound expression meaning 'to be visible, to come into view' -- built from दिखाई (dikhaaii, the noun 'visibility/sight') plus देना (denaa, 'to give'), and used with a को (ko)-marked experiencer, like दिखना (dikhnaa) but slightly more descriptive/formal in feel.
Sense
1
:
to be visible, to come into sight
verb, intransitive Takes a को (ko)-marked experiencer as the logical subject, e.g. मुझे पहाड़ दिखाई दिया (mujhe pahaad dikhaaii diyaa, 'the mountain was visible to me' / 'I saw the mountain'); दिखाई (dikhaaii) itself stays invariant while देना (denaa) agrees with the visible thing.
Synonyms: दिखना (dikhnaa), नज़र आना (nazar aanaa)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This phrase frames seeing as something that happens *to* you rather than something you actively do -- much like नींद आना (niind aanaa) frames sleep as arriving on its own. It sits alongside दिखना (dikhnaa) as a near-synonym; दिखाई देना (dikhaaii denaa) is slightly more common in writing and careful speech, while दिखना (dikhnaa) feels a touch more casual in daily conversation.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often use ने (ne) with the experiencer, but this is a को (ko)-subject construction -- say मुझे दिखाई दिया (mujhe dikhaaii diyaa), never मैंने दिखाई दिया (mainne dikhaaii diyaa). 2) The agreement is with the thing seen, not the experiencer: वह लड़की दिखाई दी (vah ladkii dikhaaii dii, 'that girl was visible') takes feminine दी (dii) because लड़की (ladkii) is feminine, regardless of who is looking.
Sample Sentences:
यहाँ से ताजमहल दिखाई देता है।
From here, the Taj Mahal is visible.
(yahaan se taajmahal dikhaaii detaa hai।)
मुझे दूर से कुछ भी दिखाई नहीं दे रहा है।
I can't see anything from far away right now.
(mujhe door se kuchh bhii dikhaaii nahiin de rahaa hai।)
कल रात आसमान में एक अजीब रोशनी दिखाई दी।
Last night a strange light appeared in the sky.
(kal raat aasmaan men ek ajiib roshnii dikhaaii dii।)
पहाड़ की चोटी पर बर्फ अभी भी दिखाई दे रही है।
Snow is still visible on the mountain peak.
(pahaad kii chotii par barph abhii bhii dikhaaii de rahii hai।)
अगर तुम खिड़की के पास खड़े हो तो तुम्हें चाँद दिखाई देगा।
If you stand near the window, you'll be able to see the moon.
(agar tum khidkii ke paas khade ho to tumhen chaand dikhaaii degaa।)
इतनी धूल में सामने वाली इमारत भी मुश्किल से दिखाई देती थी।
In all that dust, even the building across the street was barely visible.
(itnii dhool men saamne vaalii imaarat bhii mushkil se dikhaaii detii thii।)
काश दूरबीन होती, तो तारे साफ दिखाई देते।
If only I had a telescope, the stars would be clearly visible.
(kaash doorbiin hotii, to taare saaph dikhaaii dete।)
ऐसा लगता है जैसे उसे मेरी परेशानी दिखाई ही नहीं देती।
It seems as if he simply can't see my trouble at all.
(aisaa lagtaa hai jaise use merii pareshaanii dikhaaii hii nahiin detii।)
डॉक्टर ने कहा कि उसे बिना चश्मे के कुछ भी दिखाई नहीं देता।
The doctor said that he can't see anything without his glasses.
(doktar ne kahaa ki use binaa chashme ke kuchh bhii dikhaaii nahiin detaa।)
क्षितिज पर सूरज धीरे-धीरे दिखाई देने लगा।
The sun slowly began to appear on the horizon.
(kshitij par sooraj dhiire-dhiire dikhaaii dene lagaa।)
क्या तुम्हें वहाँ बोर्ड पर लिखा कुछ दिखाई देता है?
Can you see anything written on that board over there?
(kyaa tumhen vahaan bord par likhaa kuchh dikhaaii detaa hai?)
Morphology
Verb (irregular)
infinitive:
दिखाई देना
(dikhaaii denaa)
infinitive oblique:
दिखाई देने
(dikhaaii dene)
habitual/simple (sg.m):
दिखाई देता
(dikhaaii detaa)
habitual/simple (pl.m):
दिखाई देते
(dikhaaii dete)
habitual/simple (sg.f):
दिखाई देती
(dikhaaii detii)
habitual/simple (pl.f):
दिखाई देतीं
(dikhaaii detiin)
continuous (sg.m):
दिखाई दे रहा
(dikhaaii de rahaa)
continuous (pl.m):
दिखाई दे रहे
(dikhaaii de rahe)
continuous (sg.f):
दिखाई दे रही
(dikhaaii de rahii)
continuous (pl.f):
दिखाई दे रहीं
(dikhaaii de rahiin)
perfective (sg.m):
दिखाई दिया
(dikhaaii diyaa)
perfective (pl.m):
दिखाई दिए
(dikhaaii die)
perfective (sg.f):
दिखाई दी
(dikhaaii dii)
perfective (pl.f):
दिखाई दीं
(dikhaaii diin)
imperative (informal):
दिखाई दे
(dikhaaii de)
imperative (neutral):
दिखाई दो
(dikhaaii do)
imperative (formal):
दिखाई दीजिए
(dikhaaii diijie)
future (1sg.m):
दिखाई दूँगा
(dikhaaii doongaa)
future (1sg.f):
दिखाई दूँगी
(dikhaaii doongii)
future (1pl.m):
दिखाई देंगे
(dikhaaii denge)
future (1pl.f):
दिखाई देंगी
(dikhaaii dengii)
future (2sg.m):
दिखाई देगा
(dikhaaii degaa)
future (2sg.f):
दिखाई देगी
(dikhaaii degii)
future (2pl.m):
दिखाई दोगे
(dikhaaii doge)
future (2pl.f):
दिखाई दोगी
(dikhaaii dogii)
future (3sg.m):
दिखाई देगा
(dikhaaii degaa)
future (3sg.f):
दिखाई देगी
(dikhaaii degii)
future (3pl.m):
दिखाई देंगे
(dikhaaii denge)
future (3pl.f):
दिखाई देंगी
(dikhaaii dengii)
subjunctive (1sg):
दिखाई दूँ
(dikhaaii doon)
subjunctive (1pl):
दिखाई दें
(dikhaaii den)
subjunctive (2sg):
दिखाई दे
(dikhaaii de)
subjunctive (2pl):
दिखाई दो
(dikhaaii do)
subjunctive (3sg):
दिखाई दे
(dikhaaii de)
subjunctive (3pl):
दिखाई दें
(dikhaaii den)