बिताना (bitaanaa)
verb
A transitive verb meaning to spend or pass time; also used for living through or getting through a period of one's life. Related to the intransitive बीतना (biitnaa, 'to pass, elapse') -- बिताना is its causative counterpart.
Sense
1
:
to spend or pass (time)
verb, transitive Takes a time expression as its direct object, e.g. समय बिताना (samay bitaanaa, 'to spend time'), छुट्टियाँ बिताना (chhuttiyaan bitaanaa, 'to spend the holidays').
Synonyms: गुज़ारना (guzaarnaa), काटना (kaatnaa, informal, esp. for hard/boring time)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is the everyday word for describing how a day, evening, or vacation went -- कैसा वक़्त बिताया? (kaisaa vaqt bitaayaa?, 'how did you spend your time?') is a very natural way to ask a friend about their trip or weekend. Because it is causative in form (from बीतना, 'to elapse'), it subtly frames time as something you actively push along or get through, which fits its second sense of enduring a hard patch.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes reach for करना (karnaa) with time words out of habit -- but Hindi treats time as something you 'pass' or 'spend' via बिताना (bitaanaa) or गुज़ारना (guzaarnaa), not 'do'. 2) Despite being transitive, do not confuse it with its intransitive root बीतना (biitnaa) -- 'साल बीत गया' (saal biit gayaa, 'the year passed') has no subject doing the passing, while 'मैंने साल बिताया' (mainne saal bitaayaa, 'I spent the year') does.
Sample Sentences:
हमने छुट्टियाँ गोवा में बिताईं।
We spent our vacation in Goa.
(hamne chhuttiyaan govaa men bitaaiin।)
कैसा वक़्त बिताया?
How did you spend your time?
(kaisaa vaqt bitaayaa?)
मैं शाम अक्सर किताबें पढ़कर बिताता हूँ।
I usually spend my evenings reading books.
(main shaam aksar kitaaben padhkar bitaataa hoon।)
वे अपना समय दोस्तों के साथ बिता रहे हैं।
They are spending their time with friends.
(ve apnaa samay doston ke saath bitaa rahe hain।)
अगले हफ़्ते हम पूरा दिन बाज़ार में बिताएँगे।
Next week we will spend the whole day at the market.
(agle hafte ham pooraa din baazaar men bitaaenge।)
अपना समय सोच-समझकर बिताओ।
Spend your time wisely.
(apnaa samay soch-samajhkar bitaao।)
काश हम यह शाम साथ बिता पाते।
If only we could have spent this evening together.
(kaash ham yah shaam saath bitaa paate।)
अगर पैसे होते तो हम छुट्टियाँ स्विट्ज़रलैंड में बिताते।
If we had the money, we would spend our vacation in Switzerland.
(agar paise hote to ham chhuttiyaan svitzarlaind men bitaate।)
शायद वह अपनी शाम अकेले बिताए।
Perhaps he will spend his evening alone.
(shaayad vah apnii shaam akele bitaae।)
यह समय हमेशा याद रहे, ऐसे बिताना चाहिए।
One should spend this time in a way that it is always remembered.
(yah samay hameshaa yaad rahe, aise bitaanaa chaahie।)
उसने अपनी ज़िंदगी के सुनहरे साल विदेश में बिताए थे।
He had spent the golden years of his life abroad.
(usne apnii zindgii ke sunahre saal videsh men bitaae the।)
यह पूरी शाम गीत गाकर बिताई गई।
This whole evening was spent singing songs.
(yah poorii shaam giit gaakar bitaaii gaii।)
Sense
2
:
to live through, get through (a difficult period)
verb, transitive Used with expressions of hardship or difficult circumstance, e.g. मुश्किल से दिन बिताना (mushkil se din bitaanaa, 'to get through the day with difficulty'), अकेले ज़िंदगी बिताना (akele zindgii bitaanaa, 'to live out one's life alone').
Synonyms: गुज़ारना (guzaarnaa), काटना (kaatnaa, common for hardship, e.g. 'रात काटना')
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: This sense carries a note of endurance -- ज़िंदगी बिताना (zindgii bitaanaa, 'to live out one's life') often appears in conversations about someone's struggles or a modest, hard-won existence, giving it a slightly wistful or resigned color compared to the more neutral 'spend time' sense.
Sample Sentences:
उसने बड़ी मुश्किल से अपनी ज़िंदगी बिताई।
He got through his life with great difficulty.
(usne badii mushkil se apnii zindgii bitaaii।)
गरीबी में पूरा बचपन बिताना आसान नहीं होता।
Getting through an entire childhood in poverty isn't easy.
(gariibii men pooraa bachpan bitaanaa aasaan nahiin hotaa।)
वह इस मुसीबत के दिन कैसे बिता रही है, यह वही जानती है।
Only she knows how she's enduring these troubled days.
(vah is musiibat ke din kaise bitaa rahii hai, yah vahii jaantii hai।)
अगर वो साथ न देते तो मैं वो मुश्किल दिन कभी न बिता पाता।
If they hadn't stood by me, I would never have been able to get through those hard days.
(agar vo saath n dete to main vo mushkil din kabhii n bitaa paataa।)
काश हमें यह बुरा दौर इस तरह न बिताना पड़ता।
I wish we hadn't had to endure this bad phase like this.
(kaash hamen yah buraa daur is tarah n bitaanaa padtaa।)
पिताजी ने सारी उम्र मज़दूरी करके ही बिताई थी।
Father had lived out his whole life doing labor work.
(pitaajii ne saarii umr mazdoorii karke hii bitaaii thii।)
उस साल का सूखा हमने भूखे पेट बिताया था।
We got through that year's drought on empty stomachs.
(us saal kaa sookhaa hamne bhookhe pet bitaayaa thaa।)
इतने कष्ट के बाद भी वह बुढ़ापा शांति से बिता सकी।
Even after so much hardship, she was able to live out her old age peacefully.
(itne kasht ke baad bhii vah budhaapaa shaanti se bitaa sakii।)
यह कठिन समय बीत जाएगा, तुम इसे हिम्मत से बिताओ।
This hard time will pass, endure it with courage.
(yah kathin samay biit jaaegaa, tum ise himmat se bitaao।)
Morphology
Verb
infinitive:
बिताना
(bitaanaa)
infinitive oblique:
बिताने
(bitaane)
habitual/simple (sg.m):
बिताता
(bitaataa)
habitual/simple (pl.m):
बिताते
(bitaate)
habitual/simple (sg.f):
बिताती
(bitaatii)
habitual/simple (pl.f):
बितातीं
(bitaatiin)
continuous (sg.m):
बिता रहा
(bitaa rahaa)
continuous (pl.m):
बिता रहे
(bitaa rahe)
continuous (sg.f):
बिता रही
(bitaa rahii)
continuous (pl.f):
बिता रहीं
(bitaa rahiin)
perfective (sg.m):
बिताया
(bitaayaa)
perfective (pl.m):
बिताए
(bitaae)
perfective (sg.f):
बिताई
(bitaaii)
perfective (pl.f):
बिताईं
(bitaaiin)
imperative (informal):
बिता
(bitaa)
imperative (neutral):
बिताओ
(bitaao)
imperative (formal):
बिताइए
(bitaaie)
future (1sg.m):
बिताऊँगा
(bitaaoongaa)
future (1sg.f):
बिताऊँगी
(bitaaoongii)
future (1pl.m):
बिताएँगे
(bitaaenge)
future (1pl.f):
बिताएँगी
(bitaaengii)
future (2sg.m):
बिताएगा
(bitaaegaa)
future (2sg.f):
बिताएगी
(bitaaegii)
future (2pl.m):
बिताओगे
(bitaaoge)
future (2pl.f):
बिताओगी
(bitaaogii)
future (3sg.m):
बिताएगा
(bitaaegaa)
future (3sg.f):
बिताएगी
(bitaaegii)
future (3pl.m):
बिताएँगे
(bitaaenge)
future (3pl.f):
बिताएँगी
(bitaaengii)
subjunctive (1sg):
बिताऊँ
(bitaaoon)
subjunctive (1pl):
बिताएँ
(bitaaen)
subjunctive (2sg):
बिताए
(bitaae)
subjunctive (2pl):
बिताओ
(bitaao)
subjunctive (3sg):
बिताए
(bitaae)
subjunctive (3pl):
बिताएँ
(bitaaen)