घूमना (ghoomnaa)
verb
An intransitive motion verb covering three related ideas: wandering/strolling around, spinning/rotating, and going out to visit or roam a place. All senses share the core image of circular or aimless movement.
Sense
1
:
to roam, stroll, wander around
verb, intransitive
Synonyms: टहलना (tahalnaa, strolling specifically), फिरना (phirnaa, wandering/roaming)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is the verb behind the classic Delhi weekend plan: chalo, ghoomne chalte hain (chalo, ghoomne chalte hain, 'let's go roam around') -- said before heading to a market, a park, or just driving around with no fixed plan. The idea of wandering purely for pleasure, with no destination required, is baked into the word itself.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often reach for चलना (chalnaa) when they mean casual wandering, but चलना (chalnaa) is about walking/moving as a manner of locomotion, while घूमना (ghoomnaa) carries the sense of moving around without a fixed destination. 2) With a place, this verb often takes no postposition at all -- घूमना (ghoomnaa) + place name directly, e.g. बाज़ार घूमना (baazaar ghoomnaa, 'to wander around the market') -- learners sometimes over-insert में (men) where it isn't needed.
Sample Sentences:
चलो, घूमने चलते हैं।
Come on, let's go roam around.
(chalo, ghoomne chalte hain।)
हम शाम को पार्क में घूमते हैं।
We wander around the park in the evening.
(ham shaam ko paark men ghoomte hain।)
वह बिना किसी काम के बाज़ार में घूम रहा था।
He was wandering around the market with nothing particular to do.
(vah binaa kisii kaam ke baazaar men ghoom rahaa thaa।)
कल रात हम गाड़ी लेकर यूँ ही सड़कों पर घूमे।
Last night we just drove around the streets with the car, no plan at all.
(kal raat ham gaadii lekar yoon hii sadkon par ghoome।)
जरा बाहर घूम आओ, मन हल्का हो जाएगा।
Go wander outside for a bit, you'll feel lighter.
(jaraa baahar ghoom aao, man halkaa ho jaaegaa।)
अगर छुट्टी होती तो हम पूरे दिन इधर-उधर घूमते।
If it were a holiday, we would have wandered around here and there all day.
(agar chhuttii hotii to ham poore din idhar-udhar ghoomte।)
बच्चे कॉलोनी में साइकिल लेकर घूमते रहते हैं।
The kids keep roaming around the colony on their bicycles.
(bachche kolonii men saaikil lekar ghoomte rahte hain।)
मुझे यूँ ही अकेले घूमना अच्छा लगता है।
I just like wandering around alone like that.
(mujhe yoon hii akele ghoomnaa achchhaa lagtaa hai।)
क्या तुम मेरे साथ थोड़ी देर घूमना चाहोगी?
Would you like to wander around with me for a while?
(kyaa tum mere saath thodii der ghoomnaa chaahogii?)
वे लोग बिना किसी वजह के पूरे मॉल में घूमते फिरते हैं।
Those people wander all over the mall for no reason at all.
(ve log binaa kisii vajah ke poore mol men ghoomte phirte hain।)
पार्क में सैलानी यूँ ही घूमते हुए देखे जा सकते हैं।
Visitors can be seen just wandering around in the park.
(paark men sailaanii yoon hii ghoomte hue dekhe jaa sakte hain।)
Sense
2
:
to travel, go sightseeing, visit (a place) for leisure
verb, intransitive Commonly used as the compound घूमने जाना (ghoomne jaanaa, 'to go visit/travel') or घूमने आना (ghoomne aanaa, 'to come visit'), pairing the oblique infinitive with a motion verb.
Synonyms: सैर करना (sair karnaa, excursion/outing framing), भ्रमण करना (bhraman karnaa, formal/literary)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is the verb of the family holiday and the honeymoon alike: हम शिमला घूमने गए (ham shimlaa ghoomne gae, 'we went to visit Shimla') is a completely normal way to describe a whole vacation, no separate 'sightsee' word needed. It's also the polite small-talk question आजकल कहाँ घूम रहे हो? (aajkal kahaan ghoom rahe ho?, 'where have you been traveling these days?').
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners translate 'I visited Goa' too literally with a verb like देखना (dekhnaa, 'to see'); native speakers say मैं गोवा घूमा (main govaa ghoomaa, 'I traveled around/visited Goa'), treating the trip itself as the roaming. 2) The perfective agrees with the subject as an ordinary intransitive verb -- no ने (ne) is used even though the sentence feels like it has an 'object' (the place visited).
Sample Sentences:
हम गर्मियों में शिमला घूमने गए थे।
We went to visit Shimla in the summer.
(ham garmiyon men shimlaa ghoomne gae the।)
आजकल कहाँ घूम रहे हो?
Where have you been traveling these days?
(aajkal kahaan ghoom rahe ho?)
हम हर साल किसी नई जगह घूमने जाते हैं।
We go to visit a new place every year.
(ham har saal kisii naii jagah ghoomne jaate hain।)
अगली छुट्टियों में हम गोवा घूमने जाएँगे।
We will go to visit Goa in the next holidays.
(aglii chhuttiyon men ham govaa ghoomne jaaenge।)
काश हम पूरा राजस्थान घूम पाते।
I wish we could have traveled all over Rajasthan.
(kaash ham pooraa raajasthaan ghoom paate।)
अगर पैसे होते तो हम पूरी दुनिया घूमते।
If we had the money, we would travel the whole world.
(agar paise hote to ham poorii duniyaa ghoomte।)
चलो, इस बार दक्षिण भारत घूम आते हैं।
Come on, let's go visit South India this time.
(chalo, is baar dakshin bhaarat ghoom aate hain।)
कृपया हमारा शहर घूमने के लिए एक दिन ज़रूर निकालिए।
Please do take out a day to visit our city.
(kripyaa hamaaraa shahar ghoomne ke lie ek din zaroor nikaalie।)
पिछले महीने पूरा यूरोप घुमा दिया गया, बस ट्रेन से ट्रेन तक।
Last month we were taken around the whole of Europe, just train to train.
(pichhle mahiine pooraa yoorop ghumaa diyaa gayaa, bas tren se tren tak।)
शादी के बाद वे दोनों मनाली घूमने गए थे।
After the wedding, the two of them had gone to visit Manali.
(shaadii ke baad ve donon manaalii ghoomne gae the।)
यह ज़रूरी नहीं कि हर छुट्टी में हम बाहर घूमने ही जाएँ।
It's not necessary that we go out to visit somewhere every single holiday.
(yah zaroorii nahiin ki har chhuttii men ham baahar ghoomne hii jaaen।)
Sense
3
:
to spin, rotate, revolve
verb, intransitive
Synonyms: चक्कर लगाना (chakkar lagaanaa, compound-verb framing, often for repeated circling), घूर्णन करना (ghoornan karnaa, technical/scientific)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: Picture a पंखा (pankhaa, 'ceiling fan') घूम रहा है (ghoom rahaa hai, 'is spinning') on a hot Delhi afternoon -- that's the everyday mental image for this sense. It naturally extends to disorientation: दुनिया घूम रही है (duniyaa ghoom rahii hai, 'the world is spinning') is how you'd describe feeling faint or overwhelmed.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes assume this sense is only for machines, but it's equally natural for the head/world 'spinning' in dizziness: सिर घूम रहा है (sir ghoom rahaa hai, 'my head is spinning') -- an involuntary bodily sensation described with a dative-subject-style construction (सिर is the grammatical subject, not the person).
Sample Sentences:
पंखा तेज़ी से घूम रहा है।
The fan is spinning fast.
(pankhaa tezii se ghoom rahaa hai।)
मुझे इतनी गर्मी लगी कि सिर घूमने लगा।
I felt so much heat that my head started spinning.
(mujhe itnii garmii lagii ki sir ghoomne lagaa।)
पृथ्वी अपनी धुरी पर घूमती है।
The Earth rotates on its axis.
(prithvii apnii dhurii par ghoomtii hai।)
जब मैं ऊँचाई से नीचे देखता हूँ तो मेरी दुनिया घूम जाती है।
When I look down from a height, my world starts spinning.
(jab main oonchaaii se niiche dekhtaa hoon to merii duniyaa ghoom jaatii hai।)
अगर पंखे की गति कम कर दी जाती तो वह इतनी तेज़ नहीं घूमता।
If the fan's speed had been reduced, it wouldn't have spun so fast.
(agar pankhe kii gati kam kar dii jaatii to vah itnii tez nahiin ghoomtaa।)
पहिया धीरे-धीरे घूम रहा था।
The wheel was slowly turning.
(pahiyaa dhiire-dhiire ghoom rahaa thaa।)
इतनी तेज़ मत घुमाओ, कहीं पंखा खराब न हो जाए।
Don't spin it so fast, the fan might break.
(itnii tez mat ghumaao, kahiin pankhaa kharaab n ho jaae।)
लगता है ग्रह अपनी कक्षा में घूमते रहेंगे, जैसे हमेशा से घूमते आए हैं।
It seems the planets will keep revolving in their orbits, as they always have.
(lagtaa hai grah apnii kakshaa men ghoomte rahenge, jaise hameshaa se ghoomte aae hain।)
डॉक्टर ने कहा कि अगर चक्कर आए और सिर घूमे तो फ़ौरन बता देना।
The doctor said that if you feel dizzy and your head spins, tell him right away.
(doktar ne kahaa ki agar chakkar aae aur sir ghoome to fauran bataa denaa।)
मोटर की वजह से पहिए इतनी तेज़ी से घुमाए जाते हैं कि आँखों से देखना मुश्किल हो जाता है।
Because of the motor, the wheels are spun so fast that it becomes hard to watch with the naked eye.
(motar kii vajah se pahie itnii tezii se ghumaae jaate hain ki aankhon se dekhnaa mushkil ho jaataa hai।)
Morphology
Verb
infinitive:
घूमना
(ghoomnaa)
infinitive oblique:
घूमने
(ghoomne)
habitual/simple (sg.m):
घूमता
(ghoomtaa)
habitual/simple (pl.m):
घूमते
(ghoomte)
habitual/simple (sg.f):
घूमती
(ghoomtii)
habitual/simple (pl.f):
घूमतीं
(ghoomtiin)
continuous (sg.m):
घूम रहा
(ghoom rahaa)
continuous (pl.m):
घूम रहे
(ghoom rahe)
continuous (sg.f):
घूम रही
(ghoom rahii)
continuous (pl.f):
घूम रहीं
(ghoom rahiin)
perfective (sg.m):
घूमा
(ghoomaa)
perfective (pl.m):
घूमे
(ghoome)
perfective (sg.f):
घूमी
(ghoomii)
perfective (pl.f):
घूमीं
(ghoomiin)
imperative (informal):
घूम
(ghoom)
imperative (neutral):
घूमो
(ghoomo)
imperative (formal):
घूमिए
(ghoomie)
future (1sg.m):
घूमूँगा
(ghoomoongaa)
future (1sg.f):
घूमूँगी
(ghoomoongii)
future (1pl.m):
घूमेंगे
(ghoomenge)
future (1pl.f):
घूमेंगी
(ghoomengii)
future (2sg.m):
घूमेगा
(ghoomegaa)
future (2sg.f):
घूमेगी
(ghoomegii)
future (2pl.m):
घूमोगे
(ghoomoge)
future (2pl.f):
घूमोगी
(ghoomogii)
future (3sg.m):
घूमेगा
(ghoomegaa)
future (3sg.f):
घूमेगी
(ghoomegii)
future (3pl.m):
घूमेंगे
(ghoomenge)
future (3pl.f):
घूमेंगी
(ghoomengii)
subjunctive (1sg):
घूमूँ
(ghoomoon)
subjunctive (1pl):
घूमें
(ghoomen)
subjunctive (2sg):
घूमे
(ghoome)
subjunctive (2pl):
घूमो
(ghoomo)
subjunctive (3sg):
घूमे
(ghoome)
subjunctive (3pl):
घूमें
(ghoomen)