दिखना (dikhnaa)
verb
Means 'to be visible, to appear (to the eye)' -- an intransitive verb often used with a को (ko) marked experiencer, as in 'X मुझे अच्छा दिखता है' (X mujhe achchhaa dikhtaa hai, 'X looks good to me'). Closely related to the transitive दिखाना (dikhaanaa, 'to show'), which is its causative partner.
Sense
1
:
to be visible, to be seen
verb, intransitive Commonly used with a को (ko) marked experiencer: पहाड़ मुझे दिखा (pahaad mujhe dikhaa, 'I could see the mountain', literally 'the mountain became visible to me').
Synonyms: नज़र आना (nazar aanaa), दिखाई देना (dikhaaii denaa)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This verb reflects a very Hindi way of framing perception: things 'become visible' to you rather than you actively perceiving them, similar to लगना (lagnaa, 'to seem/feel') and सुनना (sunnaa) vs सुनाई देना (sunaaii denaa). It pairs neatly with दिखाई देना (dikhaaii denaa), which means almost the same thing and is used interchangeably in casual speech.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often reach for देखना (dekhnaa, 'to see/look at') here, but देखना (dekhnaa) is what the viewer actively does, while दिखना (dikhnaa) is about the thing itself being visible -- the grammatical subject is the object seen, not the person seeing. 2) The experiencer takes को (ko), not ने (ne), since दिखना (dikhnaa) is intransitive: मुझे वह दिखा (mujhe vah dikhaa, 'I saw him/it' / 'he was visible to me'), not मैंने (mainne).
Sample Sentences:
यहाँ से पहाड़ बहुत साफ़ दिखते हैं।
From here, the mountains are clearly visible.
(yahaan se pahaad bahut saaf dikhte hain।)
मुझे कल रात कुछ अजीब सा दिखा था।
I saw something strange last night.
(mujhe kal raat kuchh ajiib saa dikhaa thaa।)
उसे दूर से कोई आता हुआ दिख रहा है।
He can see someone coming from a distance.
(use door se koii aataa huaa dikh rahaa hai।)
अगर बत्ती जल जाए तो रास्ता दिखेगा।
If the light comes on, the path will become visible.
(agar battii jal jaae to raastaa dikhegaa।)
ज़रा देखो तो, स्टेशन दिखता है क्या?
Just check, is the station visible?
(zaraa dekho to, steshan dikhtaa hai kyaa?)
काश धुंध कम होती तो चाँद दिखता।
If only the fog were less, the moon would be visible.
(kaash dhundh kam hotii to chaand dikhtaa।)
इतनी धूल में कुछ भी साफ़ नहीं दिख रहा।
In all this dust, nothing is showing up clearly.
(itnii dhool men kuchh bhii saaf nahiin dikh rahaa।)
संभव है कि इस ऊँचाई से समुद्र भी दिखे।
It's possible that even the sea might be visible from this height.
(sambhav hai ki is oonchaaii se samudr bhii dikhe।)
इस खिड़की से बाज़ार साफ़ दिख जाता है।
The market is clearly visible from this window.
(is khidkii se baazaar saaf dikh jaataa hai।)
अंधेरे में सामने वाली दीवार भी नहीं दिखी।
In the dark, even the wall in front wasn't visible.
(andhere men saamne vaalii diivaar bhii nahiin dikhii।)
सुबह-सुबह कुहासे में सूरज कभी-कभी लाल दिखता है।
In the morning mist, the sun sometimes appears visible as red.
(subah-subah kuhaase men sooraj kabhii-kabhii laal dikhtaa hai।)
Sense
2
:
to appear, to look (a certain way)
verb, intransitive Takes an adjective complement describing how something/someone appears: वह थका हुआ दिखता है (vah thakaa huaa dikhtaa hai, 'he looks tired').
Synonyms: लगना (lagnaa), नज़र आना (nazar aanaa)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is the go-to verb for commenting on how someone looks -- compliments like तुम बहुत अच्छी दिखती हो (tum bahut achchhii dikhtii ho, 'you look very nice') are everyday currency at weddings and family gatherings across Delhi-NCR.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes confuse this with लगना (lagnaa) in sentences like तुम अच्छी दिखती हो (tum achchhii dikhtii ho, 'you look nice') vs तुम्हें अच्छा लगता है (tumhen achchhaa lagtaa hai, 'you feel good/like it') -- दिखना (dikhnaa) describes outward appearance, लगना (lagnaa) describes an impression or feeling, and mixing them up changes the meaning.
Sample Sentences:
तुम आज बहुत अच्छी दिखती हो।
You look very nice today.
(tum aaj bahut achchhii dikhtii ho।)
वह थोड़ी परेशान दिख रही थी।
She looked a bit worried.
(vah thodii pareshaan dikh rahii thii।)
शादी में तुम बहुत सुंदर दिख रहे थे।
You looked very handsome at the wedding.
(shaadii men tum bahut sundar dikh rahe the।)
नई ड्रेस पहनकर तुम बिल्कुल अलग दिखोगी।
You will look completely different wearing the new dress.
(naii dres pahankar tum bilkul alag dikhogii।)
अगर तू थोड़ा मुस्कुराए तो अच्छा दिखे।
If you smiled a little, you would look nice.
(agar too thodaa muskuraae to achchhaa dikhe।)
अगर वह साड़ी पहनता तो कैसा दिखता?
If he wore a saree, what would he look like?
(agar vah saadii pahantaa to kaisaa dikhtaa?)
थोड़ा हंसकर दिखो, फोटो अच्छी आएगी।
Try smiling a bit, the photo will come out nice.
(thodaa hanskar dikho, photo achchhii aaegii।)
उम्र के हिसाब से वे बहुत जवान दिखते हैं।
For their age, they look very young.
(umr ke hisaab se ve bahut javaan dikhte hain।)
आपको सूट में बहुत स्मार्ट दिखना चाहिए, मुझे यकीन है।
You must look very smart in a suit, I'm sure.
(aapko soot men bahut smaart dikhnaa chaahie, mujhe yakiin hai।)
बारिश के बाद पहाड़ बिल्कुल साफ दिखते हैं।
After the rain, the mountains look completely clear.
(baarish ke baad pahaad bilkul saaph dikhte hain।)
उसका चेहरा बीमारी से बहुत उतरा हुआ दिख रहा है।
His face looks quite worn out from the illness.
(uskaa chehraa biimaarii se bahut utraa huaa dikh rahaa hai।)
Morphology
Verb
infinitive:
दिखना
(dikhnaa)
infinitive oblique:
दिखने
(dikhne)
habitual/simple (sg.m):
दिखता
(dikhtaa)
habitual/simple (pl.m):
दिखते
(dikhte)
habitual/simple (sg.f):
दिखती
(dikhtii)
habitual/simple (pl.f):
दिखतीं
(dikhtiin)
continuous (sg.m):
दिख रहा
(dikh rahaa)
continuous (pl.m):
दिख रहे
(dikh rahe)
continuous (sg.f):
दिख रही
(dikh rahii)
continuous (pl.f):
दिख रहीं
(dikh rahiin)
perfective (sg.m):
दिखा
(dikhaa)
perfective (pl.m):
दिखे
(dikhe)
perfective (sg.f):
दिखी
(dikhii)
perfective (pl.f):
दिखीं
(dikhiin)
imperative (informal):
दिख
(dikh)
imperative (neutral):
दिखो
(dikho)
imperative (formal):
दिखिए
(dikhie)
future (1sg.m):
दिखूँगा
(dikhoongaa)
future (1sg.f):
दिखूँगी
(dikhoongii)
future (1pl.m):
दिखेंगे
(dikhenge)
future (1pl.f):
दिखेंगी
(dikhengii)
future (2sg.m):
दिखेगा
(dikhegaa)
future (2sg.f):
दिखेगी
(dikhegii)
future (2pl.m):
दिखोगे
(dikhoge)
future (2pl.f):
दिखोगी
(dikhogii)
future (3sg.m):
दिखेगा
(dikhegaa)
future (3sg.f):
दिखेगी
(dikhegii)
future (3pl.m):
दिखेंगे
(dikhenge)
future (3pl.f):
दिखेंगी
(dikhengii)
subjunctive (1sg):
दिखूँ
(dikhoon)
subjunctive (1pl):
दिखें
(dikhen)
subjunctive (2sg):
दिखे
(dikhe)
subjunctive (2pl):
दिखो
(dikho)
subjunctive (3sg):
दिखे
(dikhe)
subjunctive (3pl):
दिखें
(dikhen)