उठाना (uthaanaa)
verb
The causative of उठना (uthnaa, 'to rise/get up'): the core sense is 'to lift, pick up, raise' something, with several natural extensions -- taking on a burden or expense, waking someone, and raising a topic or one's voice.
Sense
1
:
to lift, pick up
verb, transitive
Synonyms: उठा लेना (uthaa lenaa, compound-verb variant)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is the everyday physical sense you will hear constantly -- सामान उठाना (saamaan uthaanaa, 'to pick up luggage') at a train station, or a mother telling a kid बच्चे को उठाओ (bachche ko uthaao, 'pick up the child'). Think of उठाना (uthaanaa) as 'make [something] rise' -- the causative logic of उठना (uthnaa) is baked right into the meaning.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often forget this is the transitive partner of उठना (uthnaa) and try to use उठना (uthnaa) when there is a direct object -- e.g. 'pick up the bag' needs उठाना (uthaanaa), not उठना (uthnaa). 2) With the perfective, ने (ne) is required since this is a true transitive verb: उसने बैग उठाया (usne baig uthaayaa, 'he picked up the bag'), not उसने बैग उठाया (vah baig uthaayaa).
Sample Sentences:
प्लीज़ यह बैग उठा दो।
Please pick up this bag.
(pliiz yah baig uthaa do।)
कुली ने प्लेटफ़ॉर्म पर सारा सामान उठा लिया।
The porter picked up all the luggage on the platform.
(kulii ne pletform par saaraa saamaan uthaa liyaa।)
मैं रोज़ सुबह गिरा हुआ अख़बार उठाता हूँ।
I pick up the fallen newspaper every morning.
(main roz subah giraa huaa akhbaar uthaataa hoon।)
वह ज़मीन से गिरा हुआ सिक्का उठा रही है।
She is picking up the coin that fell on the ground.
(vah zamiin se giraa huaa sikkaa uthaa rahii hai।)
बच्चे को उठाओ, वह रो रहा है।
Pick up the child, he's crying.
(bachche ko uthaao, vah ro rahaa hai।)
अगर तुम भारी सामान ख़ुद उठाते तो कमर दुखने लगती।
If you lifted the heavy luggage yourself, your back would start hurting.
(agar tum bhaarii saamaan khud uthaate to kamar dukhne lagtii।)
मुझसे यह पत्थर नहीं उठाया जाता।
This stone can't be lifted by me.
(mujhse yah patthar nahiin uthaayaa jaataa।)
स्टेशन पर मज़दूरों ने भारी बक्से उठाए।
The laborers lifted the heavy boxes at the station.
(steshan par mazdooron ne bhaarii bakse uthaae।)
क्या आप कृपया मेरा सूटकेस उठा सकते हैं?
Could you please lift my suitcase?
(kyaa aap kripyaa meraa sootkes uthaa sakte hain?)
शायद वह इतना बड़ा डब्बा न उठा पाए।
Maybe he won't be able to lift such a big box.
(shaayad vah itnaa badaa dabbaa n uthaa paae।)
कल हम फ़र्नीचर उठाएँगे और नए घर ले जाएँगे।
Tomorrow we will pick up the furniture and take it to the new house.
(kal ham farniichar uthaaenge aur nae ghar le jaaenge।)
Sense
2
:
to bear, take on (burden, expense, responsibility)
verb, transitive
Synonyms: वहन करना (vahan karnaa, formal), भुगतना (bhugatnaa, to bear consequences)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Very common in practical contexts: ज़िम्मेदारी उठाना (zimmedaarii uthaanaa, 'to take on responsibility') or नुकसान उठाना (nuksaan uthaanaa, 'to bear a loss'). The image is the same as lifting a physical weight -- you are metaphorically hoisting a burden onto your own shoulders.
Common Mistakes: 1) खर्च उठाना (kharch uthaanaa) means 'to bear the expense,' which learners sometimes confuse with 'to raise the expense' (i.e. increase it) -- the meaning here is about shouldering a cost, not increasing it.
Sample Sentences:
इस बार खर्चा मैं उठाऊँगा।
This time I will bear the expense.
(is baar kharchaa main uthaaoongaa।)
उसने पूरे परिवार की ज़िम्मेदारी उठाई।
He took on the responsibility for the entire family.
(usne poore parivaar kii zimmedaarii uthaaii।)
कंपनी को इस साल बहुत नुकसान उठाना पड़ा।
The company had to bear a huge loss this year.
(kampnii ko is saal bahut nuksaan uthaanaa padaa।)
अगर तुम यह जोखिम उठाओगे तो फ़ायदा भी ज़्यादा होगा।
If you take on this risk, the profit will also be greater.
(agar tum yah jokhim uthaaoge to faaydaa bhii zyaadaa hogaa।)
काश मैं उसका बोझ उठा पाता।
I wish I could have borne his burden.
(kaash main uskaa bojh uthaa paataa।)
यह ख़र्च सरकार उठाएगी, आपको कुछ नहीं देना।
The government will bear this expense, you don't have to pay anything.
(yah kharch sarkaar uthaaegii, aapko kuchh nahiin denaa।)
अपनी गलतियों की ज़िम्मेदारी खुद उठाओ।
Take responsibility for your own mistakes.
(apnii galtiyon kii zimmedaarii khud uthaao।)
इस परियोजना का सारा भार उन्हीं के कंधों पर उठाया गया।
The entire burden of this project was placed on his shoulders alone.
(is pariyojnaa kaa saaraa bhaar unhiin ke kandhon par uthaayaa gayaa।)
व्यापार में कभी-कभी घाटा उठाना ही पड़ता है।
In business, one sometimes just has to bear a loss.
(vyaapaar men kabhii-kabhii ghaataa uthaanaa hii padtaa hai।)
क्या तुम इतना बड़ा ज़िम्मा उठा सकते हो?
Can you take on such a big responsibility?
(kyaa tum itnaa badaa zimmaa uthaa sakte ho?)
उसने अपने दोस्त के इलाज का पूरा खर्चा उठाया।
He bore the entire cost of his friend's treatment.
(usne apne dost ke ilaaj kaa pooraa kharchaa uthaayaa।)
Sense
3
:
to wake someone up
verb, transitive
Synonyms: जगाना (jagaanaa)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You will hear this from parents every morning: मुझे सात बजे उठा देना (mujhe saat baje uthaa denaa, 'wake me up at seven'). It carries the same 'make rise' logic as the physical sense -- getting someone out of bed is, quite literally, making them get up.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes default to जगाना (jagaanaa) only, not realizing उठाना (uthaanaa) is an equally common everyday alternative, especially when talking about physically getting someone out of bed rather than just ending their sleep.
Sample Sentences:
मुझे सुबह सात बजे उठा देना।
Wake me up at seven in the morning.
(mujhe subah saat baje uthaa denaa।)
माँ रोज़ सुबह मुझे उठाती है।
Mom wakes me up every morning.
(maan roz subah mujhe uthaatii hai।)
कल रात मैं देर से सोया, इसलिए किसी ने मुझे नहीं उठाया।
I fell asleep late last night, so nobody woke me up.
(kal raat main der se soyaa, islie kisii ne mujhe nahiin uthaayaa।)
वह बच्चे को धीरे-धीरे उठा रही थी ताकि उसे डर न लगे।
She was gently waking the child up so that he wouldn't get scared.
(vah bachche ko dhiire-dhiire uthaa rahii thii taaki use dar n lage।)
अगर अलार्म न लगाया होता, तो कोई मुझे कभी नहीं उठाता।
If I hadn't set an alarm, no one would ever have woken me up.
(agar alaarm n lagaayaa hotaa, to koii mujhe kabhii nahiin uthaataa।)
उसे इतनी जल्दी मत उठाओ, अभी तो बीमार है।
Don't wake him up so early, he's sick right now.
(use itnii jaldii mat uthaao, abhii to biimaar hai।)
क्या तुम मुझे कल सुबह छह बजे उठा सकते हो?
Can you wake me up at six tomorrow morning?
(kyaa tum mujhe kal subah chhah baje uthaa sakte ho?)
शायद वह चाहता है कि मैं उसे नमाज़ के लिए उठाऊँ।
Perhaps he wants me to wake him up for prayers.
(shaayad vah chaahtaa hai ki main use namaaz ke lie uthaaoon।)
नर्स द्वारा मरीज़ को दवाई के लिए उठाया गया।
The patient was woken up by the nurse for his medicine.
(nars dvaaraa mariiz ko davaaii ke lie uthaayaa gayaa।)
पापा ने सबको जल्दी उठा दिया क्योंकि ट्रेन छूटने वाली थी।
Dad woke everyone up early because the train was about to leave.
(paapaa ne sabko jaldii uthaa diyaa kyonki tren chhootne vaalii thii।)
कृपया मेहमानों को उठा दीजिए, नाश्ता तैयार है।
Please wake the guests up, breakfast is ready.
(kripyaa mehmaanon ko uthaa diijie, naashtaa taiyaar hai।)
Sense
4
:
to raise (a topic, voice, question, issue)
verb, transitive
Synonyms: उछालना (uchhaalnaa, to raise dramatically/provocatively)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is the sense behind common civic and political language, like आवाज़ उठाना (aavaaz uthaanaa, 'to raise one's voice/protest') heard often in news and activism contexts. It extends the physical 'lift' meaning into the abstract: bringing a topic 'up' into the conversation.
Common Mistakes: 1) मुद्दा उठाना (muddaa uthaanaa, 'to raise an issue') and आवाज़ उठाना (aavaaz uthaanaa, 'to raise one's voice,' often figuratively meaning 'to protest') are fixed collocations -- learners should learn them as set phrases rather than building them word by word.
Sample Sentences:
उसने मीटिंग में एक ज़रूरी सवाल उठाया।
He raised an important question in the meeting.
(usne miiting men ek zaroorii savaal uthaayaa।)
लोगों ने अपने हक़ के लिए आवाज़ उठाई।
People raised their voice for their rights.
(logon ne apne haq ke lie aavaaz uthaaii।)
वह हर बार यही मुद्दा उठाता है।
He brings up this very issue every time.
(vah har baar yahii muddaa uthaataa hai।)
कृपया यह प्रश्न सत्र के अंत में उठाइए।
Please raise this question at the end of the session.
(kripyaa yah prashn satr ke ant men uthaaie।)
संसद में यह मामला कई बार उठाया गया है।
This matter has been raised in parliament many times.
(sansad men yah maamlaa kaii baar uthaayaa gayaa hai।)
अगर वह हिम्मत करती तो यह सवाल पहले ही उठा लेती।
If she had the courage, she would have raised this question long ago.
(agar vah himmat kartii to yah savaal pahle hii uthaa letii।)
कल की बैठक में हम यह विषय ज़रूर उठाएँगे।
We will definitely raise this topic in tomorrow's meeting.
(kal kii baithak men ham yah vishay zaroor uthaaenge।)
कार्यकर्ता चाहते हैं कि सरकार इस समस्या को गंभीरता से उठाए।
The activists want the government to seriously raise this problem.
(kaarykartaa chaahte hain ki sarkaar is samasyaa ko gambhiirtaa se uthaae।)
पत्रकार ने प्रेस कॉन्फ्रेंस में भ्रष्टाचार का मुद्दा उठाया।
The journalist raised the issue of corruption at the press conference.
(patrkaar ne pres konphrens men bhrashtaachaar kaa muddaa uthaayaa।)
यह सवाल उठाना अब बहुत ज़रूरी हो गया है।
Raising this question has now become very necessary.
(yah savaal uthaanaa ab bahut zaroorii ho gayaa hai।)
विरोध प्रदर्शन में महिलाओं ने खुलकर आवाज़ उठाई।
The women openly raised their voice during the protest.
(virodh pradarshan men mahilaaon ne khulkar aavaaz uthaaii।)
Morphology
Verb
infinitive:
उठाना
(uthaanaa)
infinitive oblique:
उठाने
(uthaane)
habitual/simple (sg.m):
उठाता
(uthaataa)
habitual/simple (pl.m):
उठाते
(uthaate)
habitual/simple (sg.f):
उठाती
(uthaatii)
habitual/simple (pl.f):
उठातीं
(uthaatiin)
continuous (sg.m):
उठा रहा
(uthaa rahaa)
continuous (pl.m):
उठा रहे
(uthaa rahe)
continuous (sg.f):
उठा रही
(uthaa rahii)
continuous (pl.f):
उठा रहीं
(uthaa rahiin)
perfective (sg.m):
उठाया
(uthaayaa)
perfective (pl.m):
उठाए
(uthaae)
perfective (sg.f):
उठाई
(uthaaii)
perfective (pl.f):
उठाईं
(uthaaiin)
imperative (informal):
उठा
(uthaa)
imperative (neutral):
उठाओ
(uthaao)
imperative (formal):
उठाइए
(uthaaie)
future (1sg.m):
उठाऊँगा
(uthaaoongaa)
future (1sg.f):
उठाऊँगी
(uthaaoongii)
future (1pl.m):
उठाएँगे
(uthaaenge)
future (1pl.f):
उठाएँगी
(uthaaengii)
future (2sg.m):
उठाएगा
(uthaaegaa)
future (2sg.f):
उठाएगी
(uthaaegii)
future (2pl.m):
उठाओगे
(uthaaoge)
future (2pl.f):
उठाओगी
(uthaaogii)
future (3sg.m):
उठाएगा
(uthaaegaa)
future (3sg.f):
उठाएगी
(uthaaegii)
future (3pl.m):
उठाएँगे
(uthaaenge)
future (3pl.f):
उठाएँगी
(uthaaengii)
subjunctive (1sg):
उठाऊँ
(uthaaoon)
subjunctive (1pl):
उठाएँ
(uthaaen)
subjunctive (2sg):
उठाए
(uthaae)
subjunctive (2pl):
उठाओ
(uthaao)
subjunctive (3sg):
उठाए
(uthaae)
subjunctive (3pl):
उठाएँ
(uthaaen)