जागना (jaagnaa)

verb One core sense: to wake up / be awake, used literally for sleep-waking and figuratively for becoming alert or aware. Related to the causative जगाना (jagaanaa, 'to wake someone up'), processed separately.
Sense 1 : to wake up, to be awake
verb, intransitive
Synonyms: उठना (uthnaa, to get up, overlaps only when waking implies getting up)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You will hear this constantly in the phrase रात भर जागना (raat bhar jaagnaa, 'to stay up all night') -- exam season, wedding functions, and late-night cricket matches all produce this sentence in Delhi households. It also extends nicely into the figurative: किस्मत जागना (kismat jaagnaa, 'for one's luck to awaken/turn') treats fortune as something that sleeps and wakes, a very Hindi way of framing change in fate.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes reach for उठना (uthnaa) when they mean जागना (jaagnaa) -- उठना (uthnaa) is about getting up out of bed, while जागना (jaagnaa) is about the state or act of being/becoming awake, even while lying down. 2) The causative जगाना (jagaanaa, 'to wake someone else up') is a separate transitive verb, not a form of जागना (jaagnaa) -- learners sometimes try to make जागना (jaagnaa) itself transitive.
Sample Sentences:
मैं रोज़ सुबह छह बजे जाग जाता हूँ। I wake up at six every morning.
(main roz subah chhah baje jaag jaataa hoon।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
कल रात हम परीक्षा की तैयारी में रात भर जागे। Last night we stayed up all night preparing for the exam.
(kal raat ham pariikshaa kii taiyaarii men raat bhar jaage।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
वह अभी जाग रही है, तुम बाद में फ़ोन करना। She's awake right now, call back later.
(vah abhii jaag rahii hai, tum baad men fon karnaa।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Continuous -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
जाग जाओ, स्कूल के लिए देर हो रही है! Wake up, you're getting late for school!
(jaag jaao, skool ke lie der ho rahii hai!)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Imperative -- Voice: Active
अगर तुम इतनी रात तक जागोगे तो सुबह उठना मुश्किल होगा। If you stay up this late, waking up in the morning will be hard.
(agar tum itnii raat tak jaagoge to subah uthnaa mushkil hogaa।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Future -- Voice: Active
शादी के घर में सब रात भर जागते रहे। Everyone at the wedding house stayed awake all night.
(shaadii ke ghar men sab raat bhar jaagte rahe।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
काश मैं इतनी देर रात तक न जागता, आज बहुत नींद आ रही है। I wish I hadn't stayed up so late, I'm so sleepy today.
(kaash main itnii der raat tak n jaagtaa, aaj bahut niind aa rahii hai।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
डॉक्टर ने कहा कि मरीज़ को समय पर जागना चाहिए और सोना भी चाहिए। The doctor said the patient should wake up and sleep at fixed times.
(doktar ne kahaa ki mariiz ko samay par jaagnaa chaahie aur sonaa bhii chaahie।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
क्रिकेट मैच देखने के लिए हम आधी रात तक जागे रहे। We stayed awake till midnight to watch the cricket match.
(kriket maich dekhne ke lie ham aadhii raat tak jaage rahe।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
बहुत दिनों की मेहनत के बाद उसकी किस्मत जाग गई और उसे नौकरी मिल गई। After days of hard work, his luck finally turned and he got the job.
(bahut dinon kii mehnat ke baad uskii kismat jaag gaii aur use naukrii mil gaii।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
अस्पताल में मरीज़ की हालत ऐसी थी कि वह न ठीक से जाग पाता था, न सो पाता था। The patient's condition in the hospital was such that he could neither wake up properly nor sleep.
(asptaal men mariiz kii haalat aisii thii ki vah n thiik se jaag paataa thaa, n so paataa thaa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
Sense 2 : to become alert, aware, or active (figurative)
verb, intransitive Often used with abstract subjects like भावना (bhaavnaa, 'feeling'), विवेक (vivek, 'conscience'), or किस्मत (kismat, 'fortune') to mean these things stir into activity.
Synonyms: जगना (jagnaa, less common variant used mainly in poetic/figurative contexts)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: This is the sense behind lines like देश जाग रहा है (desh jaag rahaa hai, 'the nation is awakening') in patriotic speeches and slogans -- waking up is a stock metaphor in Hindi for a country, conscience, or generation becoming politically or morally active.
Sample Sentences:
देश जाग रहा है। The nation is awakening.
(desh jaag rahaa hai।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Continuous -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
आखिरकार लोगों की अंतरात्मा जाग उठी। The people's conscience finally awakened.
(aakhirkaar logon kii antraatmaa jaag uthii।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
अगर युवा पीढ़ी जाग जाए, तो देश की तस्वीर बदल सकती है। If the younger generation wakes up, the country's picture can change.
(agar yuvaa piidhii jaag jaae, to desh kii tasviir badal saktii hai।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Voice: Active
जागो, हिंदुस्तान जागो! Wake up, wake up India!
(jaago, hindustaan jaago!)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Imperative -- Voice: Active
जब जनता जागती है, तो सत्ता हिल जाती है। When the public becomes aware and active, those in power start to tremble.
(jab jantaa jaagtii hai, to sattaa hil jaatii hai।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
काश समय रहते हमारा समाज जाग जाता। If only our society had woken up in time.
(kaash samay rahte hamaaraa samaaj jaag jaataa।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Perfective -- Voice: Active
इस घटना ने पूरे शहर की चेतना को जगा दिया। This incident awakened the consciousness of the entire city.
(is ghatnaa ne poore shahar kii chetnaa ko jagaa diyaa।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
क्रांति की चिंगारी से मजदूरों का जोश जाग उठा। The workers' zeal was ignited by the spark of revolution.
(kraanti kii chingaarii se majdooron kaa josh jaag uthaa।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
उम्मीद है कि नई सरकार आने से लोगों में राजनीतिक चेतना जागेगी। It is hoped that political awareness will awaken among the people with the new government's arrival.
(ummiid hai ki naii sarkaar aane se logon men raajniitik chetnaa jaagegii।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Future -- Voice: Active
बरसों की गुलामी के बाद कौम की गैरत जागी। After years of subjugation, the nation's honor awakened.
(barson kii gulaamii ke baad kaum kii gairat jaagii।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
Morphology
Verb
infinitive: जागना (jaagnaa)
infinitive oblique: जागने (jaagne)
habitual/simple (sg.m): जागता (jaagtaa)
habitual/simple (pl.m): जागते (jaagte)
habitual/simple (sg.f): जागती (jaagtii)
habitual/simple (pl.f): जागतीं (jaagtiin)
continuous (sg.m): जाग रहा (jaag rahaa)
continuous (pl.m): जाग रहे (jaag rahe)
continuous (sg.f): जाग रही (jaag rahii)
continuous (pl.f): जाग रहीं (jaag rahiin)
perfective (sg.m): जागा (jaagaa)
perfective (pl.m): जागे (jaage)
perfective (sg.f): जागी (jaagii)
perfective (pl.f): जागीं (jaagiin)
imperative (informal): जाग (jaag)
imperative (neutral): जागो (jaago)
imperative (formal): जागिए (jaagie)
future (1sg.m): जागूँगा (jaagoongaa)
future (1sg.f): जागूँगी (jaagoongii)
future (1pl.m): जागेंगे (jaagenge)
future (1pl.f): जागेंगी (jaagengii)
future (2sg.m): जागेगा (jaagegaa)
future (2sg.f): जागेगी (jaagegii)
future (2pl.m): जागोगे (jaagoge)
future (2pl.f): जागोगी (jaagogii)
future (3sg.m): जागेगा (jaagegaa)
future (3sg.f): जागेगी (jaagegii)
future (3pl.m): जागेंगे (jaagenge)
future (3pl.f): जागेंगी (jaagengii)
subjunctive (1sg): जागूँ (jaagoon)
subjunctive (1pl): जागें (jaagen)
subjunctive (2sg): जागे (jaage)
subjunctive (2pl): जागो (jaago)
subjunctive (3sg): जागे (jaage)
subjunctive (3pl): जागें (jaagen)