सहना (sahnaa)
verb
A single core meaning: to endure, bear, or tolerate pain, hardship, or unpleasant treatment.
Sense
1
:
to endure/bear (pain, hardship, insult)
verb, transitive
Synonyms: बर्दाश्त करना (bardaasht karnaa), झेलना (jhelnaa), सहन करना (sahan karnaa, more formal/written)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: सहना (sahnaa) carries a quiet, almost stoic weight in Hindi -- it's the verb behind the cultural ideal of सहनशीलता (sahanshiiltaa, 'tolerance/forbearance'), often praised as a virtue, especially in how mothers, wives, or elders are depicted as silently enduring hardship. You'll hear it in phrases like दर्द सहना (dard sahnaa, 'to bear pain') or ज़ुल्म सहना (zulm sahnaa, 'to endure cruelty/oppression'), the latter carrying real emotional and even political charge in conversation and cinema.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often reach for बर्दाश्त करना (bardaasht karnaa) by default; सहना (sahnaa) is the plainer, more native verb and fits everyday speech about pain, hardship, or ill-treatment just as well, often better. 2) सहना (sahnaa) is transitive but frequently appears without an explicit object when the endured thing is understood from context, e.g. वह चुपचाप सहती रही (vah chupchaap sahtii rahii, 'she kept quietly enduring [it]') -- learners sometimes force in a dummy object where none is needed.
Sample Sentences:
माँ ने चुपचाप सारा दर्द सहा।
The mother silently bore all the pain.
(maan ne chupchaap saaraa dard sahaa।)
अब और नहीं सहा जाता मुझसे।
I cannot bear it anymore.
(ab aur nahiin sahaa jaataa mujhse।)
वह कब तक यह ज़ुल्म सहती रहेगी?
How long will she keep enduring this cruelty?
(vah kab tak yah zulm sahtii rahegii?)
अगर वह इतना दर्द सहता तो बीमार पड़ जाता।
If he had endured so much pain, he would have fallen ill.
(agar vah itnaa dard sahtaa to biimaar pad jaataa।)
थोड़ा सह लो, सब ठीक हो जाएगा।
Bear with it a little, everything will be fine.
(thodaa sah lo, sab thiik ho jaaegaa।)
औरतें सदियों से इस समाज का ज़ुल्म सहती आई हैं।
Women have been enduring this society's cruelty for centuries.
(aurten sadiyon se is samaaj kaa zulm sahtii aaii hain।)
हो सकता है उसे बहुत कुछ सहना पड़ा हो।
It's possible that she had to endure a great deal.
(ho saktaa hai use bahut kuchh sahnaa padaa ho।)
इतना अपमान सहने के बाद भी वह मुस्कुरा रही थी।
Even after enduring so much insult, she was smiling.
(itnaa apmaan sahne ke baad bhii vah muskuraa rahii thii।)
यह पीड़ा असहनीय थी, फिर भी उसने सही।
This suffering was unbearable, yet she endured it.
(yah piidaa asahniiy thii, phir bhii usne sahii।)
बच्चे बड़ों की डाँट सहते हुए बड़े होते हैं।
Children grow up enduring scoldings from their elders.
(bachche badon kii daant sahte hue bade hote hain।)
सहनशीलता का मतलब यह नहीं कि हर ज़ुल्म सहा जाए।
Tolerance does not mean that every cruelty should be endured.
(sahanshiiltaa kaa matlab yah nahiin ki har zulm sahaa jaae।)
Morphology
Verb
infinitive:
सहना
(sahnaa)
infinitive oblique:
सहने
(sahne)
habitual/simple (sg.m):
सहता
(sahtaa)
habitual/simple (pl.m):
सहते
(sahte)
habitual/simple (sg.f):
सहती
(sahtii)
habitual/simple (pl.f):
सहतीं
(sahtiin)
continuous (sg.m):
सह रहा
(sah rahaa)
continuous (pl.m):
सह रहे
(sah rahe)
continuous (sg.f):
सह रही
(sah rahii)
continuous (pl.f):
सह रहीं
(sah rahiin)
perfective (sg.m):
सहा
(sahaa)
perfective (pl.m):
सहे
(sahe)
perfective (sg.f):
सही
(sahii)
perfective (pl.f):
सहीं
(sahiin)
imperative (informal):
सह
(sah)
imperative (neutral):
सहो
(saho)
imperative (formal):
सहिए
(sahie)
future (1sg.m):
सहूँगा
(sahoongaa)
future (1sg.f):
सहूँगी
(sahoongii)
future (1pl.m):
सहेंगे
(sahenge)
future (1pl.f):
सहेंगी
(sahengii)
future (2sg.m):
सहेगा
(sahegaa)
future (2sg.f):
सहेगी
(sahegii)
future (2pl.m):
सहोगे
(sahoge)
future (2pl.f):
सहोगी
(sahogii)
future (3sg.m):
सहेगा
(sahegaa)
future (3sg.f):
सहेगी
(sahegii)
future (3pl.m):
सहेंगे
(sahenge)
future (3pl.f):
सहेंगी
(sahengii)
subjunctive (1sg):
सहूँ
(sahoon)
subjunctive (1pl):
सहें
(sahen)
subjunctive (2sg):
सहे
(sahe)
subjunctive (2pl):
सहो
(saho)
subjunctive (3sg):
सहे
(sahe)
subjunctive (3pl):
सहें
(sahen)