बीतना (biitnaa)
verb
An intransitive verb used mainly for time passing or elapsing, and by extension for going through/undergoing a period of life or an experience.
Sense
1
:
for time to pass/elapse
verb, intransitive
Synonyms: गुज़रना (guzarnaa), गुजरना (gujarnaa, variant spelling without nuqta)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Hindi treats time as something that flows past on its own, not something a person actively moves through -- साल बीत गया (saal biit gayaa, 'the year passed') has no human agent at all. This fits the broader pattern of involuntary/experiential verbs in Hindi where time, feelings, and states happen *to* you rather than being controlled by you.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often try to make a person the grammatical subject with ने (ne), but बीतना (biitnaa) is intransitive and takes only time-expressions (साल (saal), वक़्त (vaqt), घंटा (ghantaa)) as its subject -- the person appears with पर (par) or का/की (kaa/kii), never as the one who 'does' the passing. 2) Do not confuse with बिताना (bitaanaa), the transitive causative meaning 'to spend/pass (time)' -- वक़्त बीता (vaqt biitaa, 'time passed') versus मैंने वक़्त बिताया (mainne vaqt bitaayaa, 'I spent time').
Sample Sentences:
साल बहुत जल्दी बीत गया।
The year passed very quickly.
(saal bahut jaldii biit gayaa।)
समय कितनी तेज़ी से बीतता है, पता ही नहीं चलता।
Time passes so fast, you don't even realize it.
(samay kitnii tezii se biittaa hai, pataa hii nahiin chaltaa।)
उसके जाने के बाद से तीन घंटे बीत चुके हैं।
Three hours have already passed since he left.
(uske jaane ke baad se tiin ghante biit chuke hain।)
रात धीरे-धीरे बीत रही थी।
The night was slowly passing.
(raat dhiire-dhiire biit rahii thii।)
अगले महीने तक उसकी शादी को एक साल बीत जाएगा।
By next month, a year will have passed since his wedding.
(agle mahiine tak uskii shaadii ko ek saal biit jaaegaa।)
काश समय इतनी जल्दी न बीतता।
I wish time didn't pass so quickly.
(kaash samay itnii jaldii n biittaa।)
अगर वह समय पर न आता, तो कितनी देर बीत जाती?
If he hadn't come on time, how much time would have passed?
(agar vah samay par n aataa, to kitnii der biit jaatii?)
जब तक बारिश बीत नहीं जाती, हम यहीं रुकेंगे।
We will stay right here until the rain passes.
(jab tak baarish biit nahiin jaatii, ham yahiin rukenge।)
उम्मीद है कि यह मुश्किल दौर जल्दी बीत जाए।
Hopefully this difficult phase passes soon.
(ummiid hai ki yah mushkil daur jaldii biit jaae।)
सदियाँ बीत गईं, पर उनकी कहानी आज भी याद की जाती है।
Centuries have passed, but their story is still remembered today.
(sadiyaan biit gaiin, par unkii kahaanii aaj bhii yaad kii jaatii hai।)
इतने बरस बीत गए, फिर भी वह पल भूलता नहीं।
So many years have passed, and yet that moment isn't forgotten.
(itne baras biit gae, phir bhii vah pal bhooltaa nahiin।)
Sense
2
:
for a period/experience to be undergone or lived through
verb, intransitive Used with पर (par) to mark the person affected: उस पर बहुत मुश्किल वक़्त बीता (us par bahut mushkil vaqt biitaa, 'she went through a very hard time') -- the difficulty is framed as passing over the person, not being caused by them.
Synonyms: गुज़रना (guzarnaa)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: This sense extends the time-passing image to life experiences: बचपन गाँव में बीता (bachpan gaanv men biitaa, 'childhood was spent in the village') describes a whole phase of life flowing past, echoing how Hindi speakers often narrate their life story as things that happened to them rather than things they did.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners default to साथ (saath) instead of पर (par) when marking who underwent the experience -- the correct construction is दिन/वक़्त किसी पर बीतना (kisii par biitnaa), literally 'a day/time passes upon someone.'
Sample Sentences:
उसका बचपन गाँव में बीता।
His childhood was spent in the village.
(uskaa bachpan gaanv men biitaa।)
मेरी पूरी जवानी संघर्ष में बीती।
My entire youth was spent in struggle.
(merii poorii javaanii sangharsh men biitii।)
उनके आखिरी साल बीमारी से लड़ते हुए बीते।
His last years were spent fighting illness.
(unke aakhirii saal biimaarii se ladte hue biite।)
पता नहीं यह रात कैसे बीतेगी।
I don't know how this ordeal of a night will be gotten through.
(pataa nahiin yah raat kaise biitegii।)
अगर वह साथ होता तो यह मुश्किल दौर आसानी से बीत जाता।
If he had been with me, this difficult phase would have been gotten through easily.
(agar vah saath hotaa to yah mushkil daur aasaanii se biit jaataa।)
उम्र यूँ ही किताबों में बीत रही है।
My life is just being spent among books.
(umr yoon hii kitaabon men biit rahii hai।)
काश मेरा बचपन इतनी गरीबी में न बीता होता।
If only my childhood hadn't been spent in such poverty.
(kaash meraa bachpan itnii gariibii men n biitaa hotaa।)
उसने बताया कि उसकी जिंदगी किन हालात में बीती है।
She told me under what circumstances her life has been spent.
(usne bataayaa ki uskii jindgii kin haalaat men biitii hai।)
दादी कहती हैं कि उनका पूरा जीवन इसी घर में बीता है।
Grandmother says her whole life has been spent in this very house.
(daadii kahtii hain ki unkaa pooraa jiivan isii ghar men biitaa hai।)
भगवान करे उसका बुढ़ापा सुख से बीते।
May God grant that his old age be spent in comfort.
(bhagvaan kare uskaa budhaapaa sukh se biite।)
Morphology
Verb
infinitive:
बीतना
(biitnaa)
infinitive oblique:
बीतने
(biitne)
habitual/simple (sg.m):
बीतता
(biittaa)
habitual/simple (pl.m):
बीतते
(biitte)
habitual/simple (sg.f):
बीतती
(biittii)
habitual/simple (pl.f):
बीततीं
(biittiin)
continuous (sg.m):
बीत रहा
(biit rahaa)
continuous (pl.m):
बीत रहे
(biit rahe)
continuous (sg.f):
बीत रही
(biit rahii)
continuous (pl.f):
बीत रहीं
(biit rahiin)
perfective (sg.m):
बीता
(biitaa)
perfective (pl.m):
बीते
(biite)
perfective (sg.f):
बीती
(biitii)
perfective (pl.f):
बीतीं
(biitiin)
imperative (informal):
बीत
(biit)
imperative (neutral):
बीतो
(biito)
imperative (formal):
बीतिए
(biitie)
future (1sg.m):
बीतूँगा
(biitoongaa)
future (1sg.f):
बीतूँगी
(biitoongii)
future (1pl.m):
बीतेंगे
(biitenge)
future (1pl.f):
बीतेंगी
(biitengii)
future (2sg.m):
बीतेगा
(biitegaa)
future (2sg.f):
बीतेगी
(biitegii)
future (2pl.m):
बीतोगे
(biitoge)
future (2pl.f):
बीतोगी
(biitogii)
future (3sg.m):
बीतेगा
(biitegaa)
future (3sg.f):
बीतेगी
(biitegii)
future (3pl.m):
बीतेंगे
(biitenge)
future (3pl.f):
बीतेंगी
(biitengii)
subjunctive (1sg):
बीतूँ
(biitoon)
subjunctive (1pl):
बीतें
(biiten)
subjunctive (2sg):
बीते
(biite)
subjunctive (2pl):
बीतो
(biito)
subjunctive (3sg):
बीते
(biite)
subjunctive (3pl):
बीतें
(biiten)