खेलना (khelnaa)
verb
The everyday verb for 'to play' -- games, sports, instruments in a loose sense, and also cards or gambling; it extends figuratively into 'playing with' something risky or 'being at play' in a situation.
Sense
1
:
to play (a game or sport)
verb, transitive Takes the game/sport as a direct object without a postposition: क्रिकेट खेलना (kriket khelnaa, 'to play cricket'), होली खेलना (holii khelnaa, 'to play Holi').
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Kids on any Delhi street will say चलो खेलते हैं (chalo khelte hain, 'let's play') for everything from गली क्रिकेट (galii kriket, street cricket) to कैरम (kairam, carrom) -- खेलना (khelnaa) is the universal verb that covers sport, board games, and even playful festivals like होली (holii) where you 'play' color rather than 'celebrate' it in the English sense.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes reach for a postposition like 'खेल में' (khel men) to say 'play a game,' but the game name itself is the direct object: वह फुटबॉल खेलता है (vah phutbol kheltaa hai, 'he plays football'), not 'फुटबॉल में'. 2) With festivals like होली (holii) or पानी (paanii, water fights), खेलना (khelnaa) is used rather than 'celebrate,' which surprises learners expecting मनाना (manaanaa) for every festival.
Sample Sentences:
चलो, आज शाम को क्रिकेट खेलते हैं।
Come on, let's play cricket this evening.
(chalo, aaj shaam ko kriket khelte hain।)
बच्चे गली में फुटबॉल खेल रहे हैं।
The kids are playing football in the street.
(bachche galii men phutbol khel rahe hain।)
हम हर होली पर रंगों से खेलते हैं।
We play with colors every Holi.
(ham har holii par rangon se khelte hain।)
कल रात हमने कैरम खेला था।
We played carrom last night.
(kal raat hamne kairam khelaa thaa।)
अगर बारिश नहीं होती, तो हम मैच खेलते।
If it hadn't rained, we would have played the match.
(agar baarish nahiin hotii, to ham maich khelte।)
टीम अगले हफ्ते फाइनल खेलेगी।
The team will play the final next week.
(tiim agle haphte phaainal khelegii।)
बाहर जाकर खेलो, घर के अंदर मत बैठे रहो।
Go outside and play, don't just sit inside the house.
(baahar jaakar khelo, ghar ke andar mat baithe raho।)
स्कूल में हर साल खेल दिवस पर तरह-तरह के खेल खेले जाते हैं।
All kinds of games are played at school every year on Sports Day.
(skool men har saal khel divas par tarah-tarah ke khel khele jaate hain।)
शायद वे लोग आज शाम बैडमिंटन खेलें।
Maybe they'll play badminton this evening.
(shaayad ve log aaj shaam baidmintan khelen।)
जब मैं छोटा था, तो हम रोज़ शाम को गली में खेलते थे।
When I was small, we used to play in the street every evening.
(jab main chhotaa thaa, to ham roz shaam ko galii men khelte the।)
भारत ने ऑस्ट्रेलिया के खिलाफ बहुत अच्छा मैच खेला।
India played a very good match against Australia.
(bhaarat ne ostreliyaa ke khilaaph bahut achchhaa maich khelaa।)
Sense
2
:
to toy with, risk, or manipulate (figurative)
verb, intransitive Common in fixed figurative phrases like जान से खेलना (jaan se khelnaa, 'to risk one's life') or किसी की भावनाओं से खेलना (kisii kii bhaavnaaon se khelnaa, 'to toy with someone's feelings') -- here the object of concern is marked with से (se), not treated as a direct object the way a game is.
Synonyms: जान से खेलना (jaan se khelnaa, 'to play with one's life', idiomatic set phrase)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: You'll hear this in dramatic contexts -- a mother scolding a reckless son with तुम अपनी जान से क्यों खेलते हो (tum apnii jaan se kyon khelte ho, 'why do you play with your own life'), or in soap-opera dialogue about someone playing with another's emotions; the shift from direct object to से (se)-marking signals the leap from literal play to figurative risk.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners familiar with the direct-object pattern from the 'play a game' sense may forget that this figurative sense marks its object with से (se): भावनाओं से खेलना (bhaavnaaon se khelnaa), not भावनाओं खेलना.
Sample Sentences:
तुम अपनी जान से क्यों खेलते हो?
Why do you play with your own life?
(tum apnii jaan se kyon khelte ho?)
वह लड़कों के जज़्बात से खेलती रहती है।
She keeps playing with boys' feelings.
(vah ladkon ke jazbaat se kheltii rahtii hai।)
नेता जनता की भावनाओं से खेल रहे हैं।
The politicians are playing with the public's emotions.
(netaa jantaa kii bhaavnaaon se khel rahe hain।)
उसने अपने भविष्य से खेल दिया।
He recklessly gambled with his own future.
(usne apne bhavishy se khel diyaa।)
किसी और की इज़्ज़त से मत खेलो।
Don't play with someone else's honor.
(kisii aur kii izzat se mat khelo।)
अगर तुम कानून से खेलोगे, तो पछताओगे।
If you toy with the law, you'll regret it.
(agar tum kaanoon se kheloge, to pachhtaaoge।)
काश वह अपने करियर से यूँ न खेलता।
I wish he hadn't gambled with his career like that.
(kaash vah apne kariyar se yoon n kheltaa।)
व्यापारी छोटे निवेशकों के पैसों से खेलते हैं।
Businessmen play games with small investors' money.
(vyaapaarii chhote niveshkon ke paison se khelte hain।)
यह कंपनी उपभोक्ताओं के भरोसे से खेल रही है।
This company is playing with consumers' trust.
(yah kampnii upbhoktaaon ke bharose se khel rahii hai।)
दुश्मन हमारी सुरक्षा से खेलने की कोशिश कर रहा है।
The enemy is trying to play games with our security.
(dushman hamaarii surakshaa se khelne kii koshish kar rahaa hai।)
Sense
3
:
to gamble, play cards/dice for stakes
verb, transitive Often paired explicitly with जुआ (juaa, 'gambling') as जुआ खेलना (juaa khelnaa), but ताश खेलना (taash khelnaa, 'to play cards') alone can imply stakes depending on context.
Synonyms: जुआ खेलना (juaa khelnaa, the explicit phrase for gambling)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: During Diwali evenings, many Delhi families sit down to ताश खेलना (taash khelnaa) for small stakes as a harmless tradition, which is why this sense sits right next to the innocent 'play cards' meaning rather than feeling purely negative.
Common Mistakes: 1) ताश खेलना (taash khelnaa) by itself just means 'to play cards' -- it does not automatically mean gambling; the gambling sense needs context or the word जुआ (juaa) to be unambiguous.
Sample Sentences:
दिवाली की रात हम सब ताश खेलते हैं।
On Diwali night, all of us play cards for stakes.
(divaalii kii raat ham sab taash khelte hain।)
वह हर शनिवार दोस्तों के साथ जुआ खेलता है।
He gambles with friends every Saturday.
(vah har shanivaar doston ke saath juaa kheltaa hai।)
कल रात वे लोग पत्ते खेल रहे थे और पैसे की शर्त लगा रहे थे।
Last night those people were playing cards, betting money on it.
(kal raat ve log patte khel rahe the aur paise kii shart lagaa rahe the।)
उसने एक ही रात में सारी जमा पूँजी जुए में खेल दी।
He gambled away his entire savings in a single night.
(usne ek hii raat men saarii jamaa poonjii jue men khel dii।)
यहाँ पैसे के लिए मत खेलो, सिर्फ मज़े के लिए खेलो।
Don't gamble for money here, just play for fun.
(yahaan paise ke lie mat khelo, sirph maze ke lie khelo।)
अगर वह जुआ न खेलता तो आज इतना कर्ज़ में न डूबा होता।
If he hadn't gambled, he wouldn't be so deep in debt today.
(agar vah juaa n kheltaa to aaj itnaa karz men n doobaa hotaa।)
क्लब में लोग रात भर पोकर खेलते रहते हैं।
People keep gambling at poker all night at the club.
(klab men log raat bhar pokar khelte rahte hain।)
शायद वे लोग कैसीनो में जुआ खेलें, पता नहीं।
Maybe those people gamble at the casino, who knows.
(shaayad ve log kaisiino men juaa khelen, pataa nahiin।)
पुलिस की छापेमारी में यह साबित हुआ कि उस घर में रोज़ाना जुआ खेला जाता था।
In the police raid it was proven that gambling used to be played daily in that house.
(pulis kii chhaapemaarii men yah saabit huaa ki us ghar men rozaanaa juaa khelaa jaataa thaa।)
वह जीत के लालच में अपनी सारी बचत खेल बैठा।
Out of greed for winning, he ended up gambling away all his savings.
(vah jiit ke laalach men apnii saarii bachat khel baithaa।)
Sense
4
:
to play (an instrument, in casual/folk usage)
verb, transitive Rare and dialectal for instruments; बजाना (bajaanaa) is the verb learners should actually use for instruments -- खेलना (khelnaa) surfaces here mainly in old songs or rural speech.
Synonyms: बजाना (bajaanaa, the standard verb for instruments)
Frequency: literary
Cultural Note: You'll mostly meet this sense in older folk songs or poetic lines rather than in daily conversation, where बजाना (bajaanaa) has taken over completely for instruments.
Sample Sentences:
बृज में राधा की मुरली कोई और खेले तो कान्हा रूठ जाए।
If someone else were to play Radha's flute in Braj, Kanha would get upset.
(brij men raadhaa kii murlii koii aur khele to kaanhaa rooth jaae।)
गाँव के मेले में एक बूढ़ा साधु अलगोजा खेलता था।
At the village fair, an old sadhu used to play the alगोजा flute.
(gaanv ke mele men ek boodhaa saadhu algojaa kheltaa thaa।)
सखियाँ मिलकर ढोलक खेलती हैं और सावन के गीत गाती हैं।
The girlfriends gather and play the dholak, singing songs of the monsoon month.
(sakhiyaan milkar dholak kheltii hain aur saavan ke giit gaatii hain।)
कवि ने लिखा है कि रात भर वह वीणा खेलता रहा।
The poet has written that he kept playing the veena all through the night.
(kavi ne likhaa hai ki raat bhar vah viinaa kheltaa rahaa।)
हे बंसीधर, अपनी बंसी खेल और गोपियों को बुला।
O flute-bearer, play your flute and call the gopis.
(he bansiidhar, apnii bansii khel aur gopiyon ko bulaa।)
यदि वह डफली खेलता तो सारा गाँव नाचने लगता।
If he had played the tambourine, the whole village would have started dancing.
(yadi vah daphlii kheltaa to saaraa gaanv naachne lagtaa।)
उस रात मंदिर के आँगन में शहनाई खेली गई।
That night, the shehnai was played in the temple courtyard.
(us raat mandir ke aangan men shahnaaii khelii gaii।)
लोकगीतों में अक्सर कहा जाता है कि चरवाहा बांसुरी खेलता हुआ जंगल से गुजरता है।
In folk songs it is often said that the shepherd passes through the forest playing his flute.
(lokgiiton men aksar kahaa jaataa hai ki charvaahaa baansurii kheltaa huaa jangal se gujartaa hai।)
Morphology
Verb
infinitive:
खेलना
(khelnaa)
infinitive oblique:
खेलने
(khelne)
habitual/simple (sg.m):
खेलता
(kheltaa)
habitual/simple (pl.m):
खेलते
(khelte)
habitual/simple (sg.f):
खेलती
(kheltii)
habitual/simple (pl.f):
खेलतीं
(kheltiin)
continuous (sg.m):
खेल रहा
(khel rahaa)
continuous (pl.m):
खेल रहे
(khel rahe)
continuous (sg.f):
खेल रही
(khel rahii)
continuous (pl.f):
खेल रहीं
(khel rahiin)
perfective (sg.m):
खेला
(khelaa)
perfective (pl.m):
खेले
(khele)
perfective (sg.f):
खेली
(khelii)
perfective (pl.f):
खेलीं
(kheliin)
imperative (informal):
खेल
(khel)
imperative (neutral):
खेलो
(khelo)
imperative (formal):
खेलिए
(khelie)
future (1sg.m):
खेलूँगा
(kheloongaa)
future (1sg.f):
खेलूँगी
(kheloongii)
future (1pl.m):
खेलेंगे
(khelenge)
future (1pl.f):
खेलेंगी
(khelengii)
future (2sg.m):
खेलेगा
(khelegaa)
future (2sg.f):
खेलेगी
(khelegii)
future (2pl.m):
खेलोगे
(kheloge)
future (2pl.f):
खेलोगी
(khelogii)
future (3sg.m):
खेलेगा
(khelegaa)
future (3sg.f):
खेलेगी
(khelegii)
future (3pl.m):
खेलेंगे
(khelenge)
future (3pl.f):
खेलेंगी
(khelengii)
subjunctive (1sg):
खेलूँ
(kheloon)
subjunctive (1pl):
खेलें
(khelen)
subjunctive (2sg):
खेले
(khele)
subjunctive (2pl):
खेलो
(khelo)
subjunctive (3sg):
खेले
(khele)
subjunctive (3pl):
खेलें
(khelen)