बहना (bahnaa)
verb
The core meaning is 'to flow' -- water, rivers, wind, tears, blood, sweat all बहना (bahnaa). It also extends figuratively to emotions or crowds flowing/streaming.
Sense
1
:
to flow (liquid, wind)
verb, intransitive
Synonyms: प्रवाहित होना (pravaahit honaa, formal)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Think of a Delhi summer evening when the loo (loo) is बह रही है (bah rahii hai, 'is blowing') -- this verb covers not just rivers and taps but any moving current, including wind. It pairs naturally with नदी (nadii, river), पसीना (pasiinaa, sweat), and आंसू (aansoo, tears).
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes reach for चलना (chalnaa) when describing water or wind movement, but बहना (bahnaa) is the natural verb for something flowing along a course -- rivers, taps, wind, blood -- while चलना (chalnaa) is for things that move/walk/operate. 2) This verb is intransitive, so it never takes ने (ne) in the past tense: पानी बहा (paanii bahaa, 'water flowed'), not पानी ने बहा.
Sample Sentences:
गंगा हिमालय से निकलकर बंगाल की खाड़ी में बहती है।
The Ganga flows from the Himalayas into the Bay of Bengal.
(gangaa himaalay se nikalkar bangaal kii khaadii men bahtii hai।)
शाम होते ही दिल्ली में ठंडी हवा बहने लगी।
As evening fell, a cool breeze started flowing in Delhi.
(shaam hote hii dillii men thandii havaa bahne lagii।)
बाहर लू बह रही है, अभी घर से मत निकलो।
The hot wind is blowing outside, don't step out of the house right now.
(baahar loo bah rahii hai, abhii ghar se mat niklo।)
नल खुला रह गया और सारा पानी बह गया।
The tap was left open and all the water flowed away.
(nal khulaa rah gayaa aur saaraa paanii bah gayaa।)
अगर बांध टूट जाए तो पूरा पानी गांवों में बह जाएगा।
If the dam breaks, all the water will flow into the villages.
(agar baandh toot jaae to pooraa paanii gaanvon men bah jaaegaa।)
अगर यह नाला साफ होता तो बारिश का पानी आसानी से बहता।
If this drain were clean, the rainwater would flow easily.
(agar yah naalaa saaph hotaa to baarish kaa paanii aasaanii se bahtaa।)
पहाड़ों में झरने का पानी तेज़ी से बहता है।
In the mountains, the waterfall's water flows swiftly.
(pahaadon men jharne kaa paanii tezii se bahtaa hai।)
नाले का गंदा पानी सीधे नदी में बहाया जाता है।
The drain's dirty water is made to flow directly into the river.
(naale kaa gandaa paanii siidhe nadii men bahaayaa jaataa hai।)
कहते हैं कि इस नदी में कभी शुद्ध जल बहता था।
They say that once pure water used to flow in this river.
(kahte hain ki is nadii men kabhii shuddh jal bahtaa thaa।)
हवा जिस दिशा में बहती है, पेड़ों की डालियां भी उधर ही झुक जाती हैं।
In whichever direction the wind flows, the branches of the trees bend that way too.
(havaa jis dishaa men bahtii hai, pedon kii daaliyaan bhii udhar hii jhuk jaatii hain।)
कृपया ध्यान दें कि पाइप में गैस बह रही हो सकती है।
Please note that gas may be flowing in the pipe.
(kripyaa dhyaan den ki paaip men gais bah rahii ho saktii hai।)
Sense
2
:
to stream/flow (tears, blood, emotion)
verb, intransitive
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: आंसू बहना (aansoo bahnaa, 'tears to flow') is the standard way to describe crying in narration or song lyrics -- Hindi frames tears and emotion as things that flow on their own, much like water, rather than something a person actively 'cries out.' This is the same body-as-passive-site logic you see in verbs like दर्द होना (dard honaa).
Common Mistakes: 1) With emotional or bodily fluids like आंसू (aansoo, tears) or खून (khoon, blood), learners may want a more dramatic verb, but बहना (bahnaa) itself is already the natural, common choice -- no need to hunt for something fancier.
Sample Sentences:
उसकी आँखों से आँसू बहने लगे।
Tears started streaming from her eyes.
(uskii aankhon se aansoo bahne lage।)
यह सुनकर मेरी आँखों से आँसू बहने लगे।
Hearing this, tears began to well up and flow from my eyes.
(yah sunkar merii aankhon se aansoo bahne lage।)
घाव से खून बह रहा है, डॉक्टर को बुलाओ।
Blood is flowing from the wound, call the doctor.
(ghaav se khoon bah rahaa hai, doktar ko bulaao।)
जब भी वह गाना बजता है, मेरी आँखों से आँसू बह जाते हैं।
Whenever that song plays, tears well up and flow from my eyes.
(jab bhii vah gaanaa bajtaa hai, merii aankhon se aansoo bah jaate hain।)
अगर वह यह बात सुनती तो उसकी आँखों से आँसू बहते।
If she had heard this, tears would have streamed from her eyes.
(agar vah yah baat suntii to uskii aankhon se aansoo bahte।)
उसकी बात सुनकर मन में इतनी करुणा बही कि मैं कुछ बोल न सका।
Hearing her words, such compassion welled up within me that I could not say anything.
(uskii baat sunkar man men itnii karunaa bahii ki main kuchh bol n sakaa।)
उस दृश्य को देखकर दर्शकों की आँखों से अश्रु बह पड़े।
Seeing that scene, tears streamed forth from the viewers' eyes.
(us drishy ko dekhkar darshkon kii aankhon se ashru bah pade।)
मुझे डर है कि उसकी माँ की मृत्यु की खबर सुनते ही उसकी आँखों से आँसू बहेंगे।
I fear that as soon as she hears the news of her mother's death, tears will stream from her eyes.
(mujhe dar hai ki uskii maan kii mrityu kii khabar sunte hii uskii aankhon se aansoo bahenge।)
काश उसके दुख में मेरी आँखों से भी आँसू बह पाते।
If only tears could also have flowed from my eyes in his grief.
(kaash uske dukh men merii aankhon se bhii aansoo bah paate।)
माँ के गले लगते ही बच्चे की आँखों से आँसू बह गए।
As soon as he hugged his mother, tears streamed from the child's eyes.
(maan ke gale lagte hii bachche kii aankhon se aansoo bah gae।)
Sense
3
:
to stream/pour (crowd, traffic, figurative movement)
verb, intransitive
Frequency: low
Cultural Note: You will hear this at a mela (melaa, fair) or during a big cricket match: लोगों की भीड़ बह रही थी (logon kii bhiid bah rahii thii, 'the crowd of people was streaming/pouring along') -- the image of a river is extended to describe a mass of people moving as one continuous current.
Sample Sentences:
मेले में लोगों की भीड़ बह रही थी।
At the fair, the crowd of people was streaming along.
(mele men logon kii bhiid bah rahii thii।)
स्टेडियम से बाहर निकलते ही लोग एक धारा की तरह बहने लगे।
As soon as they came out of the stadium, people began to stream out like a current.
(stediyam se baahar nikalte hii log ek dhaaraa kii tarah bahne lage।)
त्योहार के दिन बाज़ार में इतनी भीड़ बहती है कि चलना मुश्किल हो जाता है।
On festival days, such a crowd streams through the market that it becomes hard to walk.
(tyohaar ke din baazaar men itnii bhiid bahtii hai ki chalnaa mushkil ho jaataa hai।)
मैच खत्म होते ही ट्रैफिक की एक लहर सड़कों पर बहने लगेगी।
As soon as the match ends, a wave of traffic will start streaming through the streets.
(maich khatm hote hii traiphik kii ek lahar sadkon par bahne lagegii।)
अगर रास्ता थोड़ा चौड़ा होता तो भीड़ इतनी तेज़ी से बहती।
If the path were a bit wider, the crowd would stream through this fast.
(agar raastaa thodaa chaudaa hotaa to bhiid itnii tezii se bahtii।)
मेट्रो स्टेशन से लोग लगातार बहते चले जा रहे थे।
People kept streaming continuously out of the metro station.
(metro steshan se log lagaataar bahte chale jaa rahe the।)
जुलूस के साथ भीड़ ऐसे बही जैसे कोई नदी उफान पर हो।
The crowd streamed along with the procession as if a river were in full flood.
(juloos ke saath bhiid aise bahii jaise koii nadii uphaan par ho।)
पुलिस चाहती थी कि भीड़ शांति से बहे, न कि रुककर हंगामा करे।
The police wanted the crowd to stream through peacefully, not stop and cause a ruckus.
(pulis chaahtii thii ki bhiid shaanti se bahe, n ki rukkar hangaamaa kare।)
Morphology
Verb
infinitive:
बहना
(bahnaa)
infinitive oblique:
बहने
(bahne)
habitual/simple (sg.m):
बहता
(bahtaa)
habitual/simple (pl.m):
बहते
(bahte)
habitual/simple (sg.f):
बहती
(bahtii)
habitual/simple (pl.f):
बहतीं
(bahtiin)
continuous (sg.m):
बह रहा
(bah rahaa)
continuous (pl.m):
बह रहे
(bah rahe)
continuous (sg.f):
बह रही
(bah rahii)
continuous (pl.f):
बह रहीं
(bah rahiin)
perfective (sg.m):
बहा
(bahaa)
perfective (pl.m):
बहे
(bahe)
perfective (sg.f):
बही
(bahii)
perfective (pl.f):
बहीं
(bahiin)
imperative (informal):
बह
(bah)
imperative (neutral):
बहो
(baho)
imperative (formal):
बहिए
(bahie)
future (1sg.m):
बहूँगा
(bahoongaa)
future (1sg.f):
बहूँगी
(bahoongii)
future (1pl.m):
बहेंगे
(bahenge)
future (1pl.f):
बहेंगी
(bahengii)
future (2sg.m):
बहेगा
(bahegaa)
future (2sg.f):
बहेगी
(bahegii)
future (2pl.m):
बहोगे
(bahoge)
future (2pl.f):
बहोगी
(bahogii)
future (3sg.m):
बहेगा
(bahegaa)
future (3sg.f):
बहेगी
(bahegii)
future (3pl.m):
बहेंगे
(bahenge)
future (3pl.f):
बहेंगी
(bahengii)
subjunctive (1sg):
बहूँ
(bahoon)
subjunctive (1pl):
बहें
(bahen)
subjunctive (2sg):
बहे
(bahe)
subjunctive (2pl):
बहो
(baho)
subjunctive (3sg):
बहे
(bahe)
subjunctive (3pl):
बहें
(bahen)