पचाना (pachaanaa)
verb
The causative of पचना (pachnaa, 'to be digested'): literally 'to digest (something)', and widely extended to figurative senses like 'to embezzle/pocket (money)' and 'to stomach/tolerate (an insult or unfair situation)'.
Sense
1
:
to digest (food)
verb, transitive
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You will hear this constantly around food talk in Delhi: भारी खाना है, पचेगा नहीं (bhaarii khaanaa hai, pachegaa nahiin, 'it's heavy food, it won't digest') uses the intransitive पचना (pachnaa), while खाना ठीक से पचाओ (khaanaa thiik se pachaao, 'digest your food properly') uses this causative -- the pair is a nice small window into how Hindi loves to distinguish 'it happens to X' from 'X makes it happen'.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes use पचना (pachnaa) when they mean the active 'I digested the food' -- but पचना (pachnaa) is intransitive ('the food digests/gets digested'), while पचाना (pachaanaa) is the transitive causative you need for 'I digested it'; the subject who eats and processes the food takes पचाना (pachaanaa), not पचना (pachnaa).
Sample Sentences:
रात को इतना भारी खाना मत खाओ, पचाना मुश्किल हो जाता है।
Don't eat such heavy food at night, it becomes hard to digest.
(raat ko itnaa bhaarii khaanaa mat khaao, pachaanaa mushkil ho jaataa hai।)
खाना ठीक से पचाओ, इतनी जल्दी मत खाओ।
Digest your food properly, don't eat so fast.
(khaanaa thiik se pachaao, itnii jaldii mat khaao।)
बचपन में मैं कुछ भी पचा लेता था, अब पेट इतना साथ नहीं देता।
As a child I used to digest anything, now my stomach doesn't cooperate that much.
(bachpan men main kuchh bhii pachaa letaa thaa, ab pet itnaa saath nahiin detaa।)
डॉक्टर ने कहा है कि थोड़ा-थोड़ा खाओ ताकि शरीर उसे आसानी से पचा सके।
The doctor has said to eat a little at a time so the body can digest it easily.
(doktar ne kahaa hai ki thodaa-thodaa khaao taaki shariir use aasaanii se pachaa sake।)
अगर तुम रोज़ सैर करते तो खाना आसानी से पचा लेते।
If you walked every day, you would digest your food easily.
(agar tum roz sair karte to khaanaa aasaanii se pachaa lete।)
पार्टी में इतना तेल-मसाला खा लिया, अब पचाना पड़ेगा।
I ate so much oily, spicy food at the party, now I'll have to digest it.
(paartii men itnaa tel-masaalaa khaa liyaa, ab pachaanaa padegaa।)
यह भारी खाना है, पचेगा नहीं, थोड़ा ही खाओ।
This is heavy food, it won't digest, eat just a little.
(yah bhaarii khaanaa hai, pachegaa nahiin, thodaa hii khaao।)
अजवाइन खाने से खाना जल्दी पचा जाता है, ऐसा दादी कहती हैं।
Eating ajwain makes food digest quickly, that's what grandma says.
(ajvaain khaane se khaanaa jaldii pachaa jaataa hai, aisaa daadii kahtii hain।)
मरीज़ ठोस भोजन नहीं पचा पा रहा था, इसलिए उसे तरल आहार दिया गया।
The patient was unable to digest solid food, so he was given liquid food.
(mariiz thos bhojan nahiin pachaa paa rahaa thaa, islie use taral aahaar diyaa gayaa।)
इस दवा से आपका शरीर भारी चीज़ें भी आराम से पचा सकेगा।
With this medicine your body will be able to digest even heavy things comfortably.
(is davaa se aapkaa shariir bhaarii chiizen bhii aaraam se pachaa sakegaa।)
Sense
2
:
to embezzle, misappropriate, pocket (money)
verb, transitive
Synonyms: हड़पना (hadapnaa)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: This is the word you'll hear in everyday gossip about corrupt officials or a shady relative: पैसे पचा गया (paise pachaa gayaa, 'he pocketed the money')-- the image is of someone 'digesting' stolen money so thoroughly that it disappears without a trace, which is exactly the sly, guilt-free tone the word carries.
Sample Sentences:
वह कंपनी के लाखों रुपये पचा गया।
He embezzled lakhs of rupees from the company.
(vah kampnii ke laakhon rupye pachaa gayaa।)
सरकारी अफसर राहत का पैसा पचा जाते हैं।
Government officials pocket the relief funds.
(sarkaarii aphsar raahat kaa paisaa pachaa jaate hain।)
क्या तुम सच में सोचते हो कि तुम इतनी बड़ी रकम पचा जाओगे?
Do you really think you'll get away with pocketing such a huge amount?
(kyaa tum sach men sochte ho ki tum itnii badii rakam pachaa jaaoge?)
चंदे का सारा पैसा वह अकेला पचा गया।
He alone embezzled all the donation money.
(chande kaa saaraa paisaa vah akelaa pachaa gayaa।)
जांच में पता चला कि ठेकेदार करोड़ों रुपये पचा चुका था।
The investigation revealed that the contractor had already embezzled crores of rupees.
(jaanch men pataa chalaa ki thekedaar karodon rupye pachaa chukaa thaa।)
इतना पैसा यूँ ही पचा लेना आसान नहीं होता।
It isn't easy to just pocket that much money without anyone noticing.
(itnaa paisaa yoon hii pachaa lenaa aasaan nahiin hotaa।)
अगर वह इतना लालची न होता तो कंपनी का पैसा न पचाता।
If he weren't so greedy, he wouldn't have embezzled the company's money.
(agar vah itnaa laalchii n hotaa to kampnii kaa paisaa n pachaataa।)
यह पैसा किसी का हक है, इसे मत पचाओ।
This money belongs to someone else -- don't embezzle it.
(yah paisaa kisii kaa hak hai, ise mat pachaao।)
अनुदान की राशि क्लर्क द्वारा पचा ली गई।
The grant amount was embezzled by the clerk.
(anudaan kii raashi klark dvaaraa pachaa lii gaii।)
मुझे शक है कि मैनेजर हर महीने थोड़ा-थोड़ा पैसा पचा जाता है।
I suspect the manager pockets a little money every month.
(mujhe shak hai ki mainejar har mahiine thodaa-thodaa paisaa pachaa jaataa hai।)
Sense
3
:
to stomach, tolerate, come to terms with (an insult, loss, or unfair situation)
verb, transitive
Synonyms: बर्दाश्त करना (bardaasht karnaa)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: English 'digest' can mean 'come to terms with an idea' too, so this extension often feels intuitive to English speakers -- but Hindi speakers reach for it especially when someone swallows a personal insult or humiliation without reacting, e.g. उसने अपमान पचा लिया (usne apmaan pachaa liyaa, 'he swallowed the insult'), often with a note of admiration or pity for their restraint.
Common Mistakes: 1) This sense often appears with an abstract noun like बात (baat) or अपमान (apmaan) as object, e.g. यह बात पचाना मुश्किल है (yah baat pachaanaa mushkil hai, 'it's hard to stomach this') -- learners sometimes reach for बर्दाश्त करना (bardaasht karnaa) by default, but पचाना (pachaanaa) adds a flavor of quietly absorbing and moving on, not just enduring in the moment.
Sample Sentences:
उसने अपमान पचा लिया।
He swallowed the insult.
(usne apmaan pachaa liyaa।)
इतनी बड़ी बेइज़्ज़ती मैं कैसे पचाऊँ?
How am I supposed to stomach such a huge humiliation?
(itnii badii beizztii main kaise pachaaoon?)
वह हर बात पचा जाती है, कभी शिकायत नहीं करती।
She tolerates everything, she never complains.
(vah har baat pachaa jaatii hai, kabhii shikaayat nahiin kartii।)
अगर तुम यह नुकसान पचा सकते तो अब तक शांत हो जाते।
If you could have stomached this loss, you would have calmed down by now.
(agar tum yah nuksaan pachaa sakte to ab tak shaant ho jaate।)
यह बेइज़्ज़ती पचानी पड़ेगी, कोई चारा नहीं है।
This humiliation will have to be swallowed, there's no other option.
(yah beizztii pachaanii padegii, koii chaaraa nahiin hai।)
पिताजी, यह हार पचा नहीं पा रहे हैं।
Father is unable to come to terms with this defeat.
(pitaajii, yah haar pachaa nahiin paa rahe hain।)
इतनी बेइज़्ज़ती पचा कर भी वह चुप रहा, यह देखकर सब हैरान थे।
Everyone was amazed that he stayed quiet even after swallowing such an insult.
(itnii beizztii pachaa kar bhii vah chup rahaa, yah dekhkar sab hairaan the।)
बेटा, हर धक्का पचाना सीखो, ज़िंदगी यूँ ही चलती है।
Son, learn to stomach every setback, that's just how life goes.
(betaa, har dhakkaa pachaanaa siikho, zindgii yoon hii chaltii hai।)
क्या तुम सच में इतना बड़ा धोखा पचा पाओगी?
Will you really be able to come to terms with such a big betrayal?
(kyaa tum sach men itnaa badaa dhokhaa pachaa paaogii?)
समाज में औरतों को अक्सर अपने साथ हुए अन्याय को पचाने के लिए मजबूर किया जाता है।
In society, women are often forced to stomach the injustice done to them.
(samaaj men aurton ko aksar apne saath hue anyaay ko pachaane ke lie majboor kiyaa jaataa hai।)
Morphology
Verb
infinitive:
पचाना
(pachaanaa)
infinitive oblique:
पचाने
(pachaane)
habitual/simple (sg.m):
पचाता
(pachaataa)
habitual/simple (pl.m):
पचाते
(pachaate)
habitual/simple (sg.f):
पचाती
(pachaatii)
habitual/simple (pl.f):
पचातीं
(pachaatiin)
continuous (sg.m):
पचा रहा
(pachaa rahaa)
continuous (pl.m):
पचा रहे
(pachaa rahe)
continuous (sg.f):
पचा रही
(pachaa rahii)
continuous (pl.f):
पचा रहीं
(pachaa rahiin)
perfective (sg.m):
पचाया
(pachaayaa)
perfective (pl.m):
पचाए
(pachaae)
perfective (sg.f):
पचाई
(pachaaii)
perfective (pl.f):
पचाईं
(pachaaiin)
imperative (informal):
पचा
(pachaa)
imperative (neutral):
पचाओ
(pachaao)
imperative (formal):
पचाइए
(pachaaie)
future (1sg.m):
पचाऊँगा
(pachaaoongaa)
future (1sg.f):
पचाऊँगी
(pachaaoongii)
future (1pl.m):
पचाएँगे
(pachaaenge)
future (1pl.f):
पचाएँगी
(pachaaengii)
future (2sg.m):
पचाएगा
(pachaaegaa)
future (2sg.f):
पचाएगी
(pachaaegii)
future (2pl.m):
पचाओगे
(pachaaoge)
future (2pl.f):
पचाओगी
(pachaaogii)
future (3sg.m):
पचाएगा
(pachaaegaa)
future (3sg.f):
पचाएगी
(pachaaegii)
future (3pl.m):
पचाएँगे
(pachaaenge)
future (3pl.f):
पचाएँगी
(pachaaengii)
subjunctive (1sg):
पचाऊँ
(pachaaoon)
subjunctive (1pl):
पचाएँ
(pachaaen)
subjunctive (2sg):
पचाए
(pachaae)
subjunctive (2pl):
पचाओ
(pachaao)
subjunctive (3sg):
पचाए
(pachaae)
subjunctive (3pl):
पचाएँ
(pachaaen)