हो चलना (ho chalnaa)
verb
A compound verb built from होना (honaa, 'to be/become') plus चलना (chalnaa) as a vector verb, meaning a gradual process or state has already begun and is steadily progressing -- 'to have started becoming, to be well on the way to.'
Sense
1
:
to have begun to become, to be gradually setting in
verb, intransitive हो stays fixed while चलना (chalnaa) conjugates for the gender/number of the subject: हो चला (ho chalaa), हो चली (ho chalii), हो चले (ho chale), हो चलीं (ho chaliin). Commonly used with time-of-day nouns and adjectives describing states that creep up gradually (age, health, weather, darkness).
Synonyms: होने लगना (hone lagnaa), हो जाना (ho jaanaa, less gradual, more sudden completion)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: This is a favorite construction for describing the slow creep of time or age: शाम हो चली है (shaam ho chalii hai, 'evening has begun to set in') or वह बूढ़ा हो चला है (vah boodhaa ho chalaa hai, 'he has begun to turn old') both capture that unmistakably Hindi sense of a state quietly arriving rather than switching on all at once. It pairs naturally with चलना's (chalnaa) own core meaning of ongoing movement -- the state is 'walking along' toward completion.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often reach for हो जाना (ho jaanaa) instead, but that frames the change as complete or sudden; हो चलना (ho chalnaa) specifically frames the change as still underway, already in motion. 2) Because हो is frozen and only चलना (chalnaa) carries the agreement, learners sometimes mistakenly try to inflect हो itself (e.g. writing हुई चलना) -- only the second part changes.
Sample Sentences:
शाम हो चली है, अब हमें घर लौट जाना चाहिए।
Evening has begun to set in, we should head back home now.
(shaam ho chalii hai, ab hamen ghar laut jaanaa chaahie।)
वह बूढ़ा हो चला है, पर अब भी रोज़ सुबह सैर करता है।
He has begun to turn old, but he still goes for a walk every morning.
(vah boodhaa ho chalaa hai, par ab bhii roz subah sair kartaa hai।)
जब हम पहाड़ों पर पहुँचे, तब तक अंधेरा हो चला था।
By the time we reached the hills, darkness had already begun to set in.
(jab ham pahaadon par pahunche, tab tak andheraa ho chalaa thaa।)
सर्दी का मौसम हो चला है, ऊनी कपड़े निकाल लो।
Winter season has begun to set in, take out the woolen clothes.
(sardii kaa mausam ho chalaa hai, oonii kapde nikaal lo।)
उसकी तबीयत अब कुछ ठीक हो चली है।
His health has now begun to get somewhat better.
(uskii tabiiyat ab kuchh thiik ho chalii hai।)
क्या सचमुच इतनी रात हो चली है? मुझे तो पता ही नहीं चला।
Has it really gotten this late already? I didn't even notice.
(kyaa sachmuch itnii raat ho chalii hai? mujhe to pataa hii nahiin chalaa।)
अगर तब तक बारिश हो चली होती, तो हमें छत ठीक करानी पड़ती।
If the rain had already begun to set in by then, we would have had to get the roof fixed.
(agar tab tak baarish ho chalii hotii, to hamen chhat thiik karaanii padtii।)
उम्र के साथ उसकी आँखें कमज़ोर हो चली हैं।
With age, his eyes have begun to grow weak.
(umr ke saath uskii aankhen kamzor ho chalii hain।)
देखते ही देखते साल भर पुरानी वह दोस्ती अब गहरी हो चली थी।
Before we knew it, that year-old friendship had gradually begun to grow deep.
(dekhte hii dekhte saal bhar puraanii vah dostii ab gahrii ho chalii thii।)
गर्मी अब असहनीय हो चली है, कूलर चला दो।
The heat has now become unbearable, turn on the cooler.
(garmii ab asahniiy ho chalii hai, koolar chalaa do।)
Morphology
Verb
infinitive:
हो चलना
(ho chalnaa)
infinitive oblique:
हो चलने
(ho chalne)
habitual/simple (sg.m):
हो चलता
(ho chaltaa)
habitual/simple (pl.m):
हो चलते
(ho chalte)
habitual/simple (sg.f):
हो चलती
(ho chaltii)
habitual/simple (pl.f):
हो चलतीं
(ho chaltiin)
continuous (sg.m):
हो चल रहा
(ho chal rahaa)
continuous (pl.m):
हो चल रहे
(ho chal rahe)
continuous (sg.f):
हो चल रही
(ho chal rahii)
continuous (pl.f):
हो चल रहीं
(ho chal rahiin)
perfective (sg.m):
हो चला
(ho chalaa)
perfective (pl.m):
हो चले
(ho chale)
perfective (sg.f):
हो चली
(ho chalii)
perfective (pl.f):
हो चलीं
(ho chaliin)
imperative (informal):
हो चल
(ho chal)
imperative (neutral):
हो चलो
(ho chalo)
imperative (formal):
हो चलिए
(ho chalie)
future (1sg.m):
हो चलूँगा
(ho chaloongaa)
future (1sg.f):
हो चलूँगी
(ho chaloongii)
future (1pl.m):
हो चलेंगे
(ho chalenge)
future (1pl.f):
हो चलेंगी
(ho chalengii)
future (2sg.m):
हो चलेगा
(ho chalegaa)
future (2sg.f):
हो चलेगी
(ho chalegii)
future (2pl.m):
हो चलोगे
(ho chaloge)
future (2pl.f):
हो चलोगी
(ho chalogii)
future (3sg.m):
हो चलेगा
(ho chalegaa)
future (3sg.f):
हो चलेगी
(ho chalegii)
future (3pl.m):
हो चलेंगे
(ho chalenge)
future (3pl.f):
हो चलेंगी
(ho chalengii)
subjunctive (1sg):
हो चलूँ
(ho chaloon)
subjunctive (1pl):
हो चलें
(ho chalen)
subjunctive (2sg):
हो चले
(ho chale)
subjunctive (2pl):
हो चलो
(ho chalo)
subjunctive (3sg):
हो चले
(ho chale)
subjunctive (3pl):
हो चलें
(ho chalen)