You can now greet people, introduce yourself, and say where you're from — amazing progress! In this lesson, you'll learn to talk about your job or studies. This is one of the most common topics in Indian conversations. You'll learn the present habitual tense — how Hindi expresses what someone regularly does. By the end, you'll be able to ask and answer 'What do you do?' confidently!
Learning tips
- Hindi verbs change for gender even in the present tense: करता [kartā] (he does) vs. करती [kartī] (she does). This is one of the biggest differences from English.
- पढ़ना [paṛhnā] means 'to study/read' and पढ़ाना [paṛhānā] means 'to teach.' The extra आ [ā] turns 'doing something yourself' into 'making someone else do it' — a common Hindi pattern.
- कहाँ [kahā̃] (where) and कौन [kaun] (who) are your two new question words. Combined with what you already know (क्या [kyā] = what), you can ask many questions!
- In Delhi, discussing professions is very common and not considered impolite — it's how people connect.
Warm-up & Active Recall
| Word | Romanization | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| कहाँ | kahā̃ | where |
| से | se | from, with, by |
| भारत | bhārat | India |
| दिल्ली | dillī | Delhi |
| देश | deś | country |
| शहर | śahar | city |
| में | mẽ | in, inside |
| रहना | rahnā | to live, to stay |
| यहाँ | yahā̃ | here |
| वहाँ | vahā̃ | there |
Dialog
Sita and Ravi are having chai at Connaught Place, one of Delhi's most famous areas. They discuss their professions — Ravi works in software and Sita is a university student. Notice the present habitual tense: करता/करती हूँ [kartā/kartī hū̃] (I do regularly). The verb form changes based on the subject's gender. Also pay attention to कौन [kaun] (who) — another essential question word. Ravi mentions his sister is a doctor and his father teaches at a university, which is very typical of Indian conversations where family comes up naturally.
Vocabulary
Active words
| Word | Romanization | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| काम | kām | /kaːm/ | work, job | Masculine noun — used in the phrase काम करना [kām karnā] (to do work) |
| करना | karnā | /kər.naː/ | to do | One of the most important Hindi verbs — used in countless compound verbs like काम करना [kām karnā] |
| पढ़ना | paṛhnā | /pəɽʰ.naː/ | to study, to read | पढ़ [paṛh] is the verb stem — note the dot under ड [ḍ] which makes it ड़ [ṛ] |
| पढ़ाना | paṛhānā | /pəɽʰ.aː.naː/ | to teach | Causative form of पढ़ना [paṛhnā] — the -आना [-ānā] suffix means 'to make someone do' |
| छात्र | chātr | /t͡ʃʰaːt̪r/ | student | Masculine noun — feminine form is छात्रा [chātrā], though छात्र [chātr] is often used for both |
| अध्यापक | adhyāpak | /əd̪ʰ.jaː.pək/ | teacher, professor | Formal word for teacher — the everyday word is टीचर [ṭīcar] (borrowed from English) |
| डॉक्टर | ḍŏkṭar | /ɖɒk.ʈər/ | doctor | Borrowed from English — used universally in Hindi |
| दफ़्तर | daftar | /d̪əf.t̪ər/ | office | Urdu-origin — the most common word for 'office' in Hindi (more common than कार्यालय [kāryālay]) |
| कहाँ | kahā̃ | /kə.haː̃/ | where | You learned this in Lesson 1.3 — here it's used to ask about workplace: कहाँ काम करते हैं? [kahā̃ kām karte haĩ?] |
| कौन | kaun | /kɔːn/ | who | Question word for people — कौन काम करता है? [kaun kām kartā hai?] = 'Who works?' |
Passive words
| Word | Romanization | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| इंजीनियर | iñjīniyar | /ɪn.d͡ʒiː.ni.jər/ | engineer | Borrowed from English — very common profession in India |
| वकील | vakīl | /və.kiːl/ | lawyer | Urdu-origin word — formal: अधिवक्ता [adhivaktā] |
| कंपनी | kampanī | /kəm.pə.niː/ | company | Borrowed from English — commonly used in Hindi |
| विश्वविद्यालय | viśvavidyālay | /viʃ.və.vid̪.jaː.ləj/ | university | Sanskrit compound: विश्व [viśva] (world) + विद्यालय [vidyālay] (school of knowledge) |
| नौकरी | naukrī | /nɔː.kriː/ | job, employment | Feminine noun — नौकरी करना [naukrī karnā] = 'to have a job' |
| पेशा | peśā | /peː.ʃaː/ | profession, occupation | Urdu-origin — more formal than काम [kām] |
Useful chunks
| Word | Romanization | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| आप क्या करते हैं? | āp kyā karte haĩ? | What do you do? (formal) |
| मैं काम करता/करती हूँ | maĩ kām kartā/kartī hū̃ | I work (masc./fem.) |
| मैं पढ़ता/पढ़ती हूँ | maĩ paṛhtā/paṛhtī hū̃ | I study (masc./fem.) |
Grammar: Present habitual tense — करता/करती/करते [kartā/kartī/karte] + हूँ/है/हैं [hū̃/hai/haĩ]
| Subject | Verb stem | Gender/Number | Habitual marker | Auxiliary | Full form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| मैं [maĩ] (I, masc.) | कर [kar] | masc. sing. | करता [kartā] | हूँ [hū̃] | मैं काम करता हूँ [maĩ kām kartā hū̃] |
| मैं [maĩ] (I, fem.) | कर [kar] | fem. sing. | करती [kartī] | हूँ [hū̃] | मैं काम करती हूँ [maĩ kām kartī hū̃] |
| आप [āp] (you, masc.) | कर [kar] | masc. pl. | करते [karte] | हैं [haĩ] | आप काम करते हैं [āp kām karte haĩ] |
| आप [āp] (you, fem.) | कर [kar] | fem. pl. | करती [kartī] | हैं [haĩ] | आप काम करती हैं [āp kām kartī haĩ] |
| वह [vah] (he) | कर [kar] | masc. sing. | करता [kartā] | है [hai] | वह काम करता है [vah kām kartā hai] |
| वह [vah] (she) | कर [kar] | fem. sing. | करती [kartī] | है [hai] | वह काम करती है [vah kām kartī hai] |
The present habitual tense expresses what someone regularly does — their routine, job, or habit.
It's formed with: verb stem + ता/ती/ते [tā/tī/te] + हूँ/है/हैं [hū̃/hai/haĩ]
The ता/ती/ते [tā/tī/te] part changes for gender and number:
- -ता [-tā] — masculine singular (मैं [maĩ] masc., वह [vah] masc.)
- -ती [-tī] — feminine singular/plural (मैं [maĩ] fem., वह [vah] fem., आप [āp] fem.)
- -ते [-te] — masculine plural / आप [āp] masculine
Examples with करना [karnā] (to do):
- मैं काम करता हूँ [maĩ kām kartā hū̃] — I work (male speaking)
- मैं काम करती हूँ [maĩ kām kartī hū̃] — I work (female speaking)
- आप काम करते हैं [āp kām karte haĩ] — You work (formal, to a male)
- वह काम करती है [vah kām kartī hai] — She works
Notice that the auxiliary (हूँ [hū̃], है [hai], हैं [haĩ]) stays the same as what you learned with होना [honā]. Only the main verb ending changes for gender.
Exercises
Fill in the Blanks
Complete each sentence with the missing Hindi word.
- आप क्या हैं?(habitual verb form — 'do')
- मैं विश्वविद्यालय में हूँ।(habitual verb form — 'study', feminine)
- वह में काम करती है।(workplace — 'office')
- मेरे पापा हैं। वह हैं।(teach / teacher)
- आपके दफ़्तर में काम करता है?(question word — 'who')
Grammar Application
Conjugate the verb in the present habitual tense for the given subject.
- मैं (fem.) + पढ़ना [paṛhnā] → मैं [maĩ ](feminine + study)
- वह (masc.) + करना [karnā] → वह काम [vah kām ](masculine + do)
- आप (fem.) + पढ़ाना [paṛhānā] → आप [āp ](feminine formal + teach)
- वह (fem.) + करना [karnā] → वह काम [vah kām ](feminine + do)
- मैं (masc.) + पढ़ाना [paṛhānā] → मैं [maĩ ](masculine + teach)
Translation (English → Hindi)
Translate each sentence into Hindi.
- What do you do? (formal)
- I work at the office. (male speaking)
- She is a doctor.
- I am a student. I study at the university. (female speaking)
- Who works here?
Creative Construction
Write 2-3 sentences about your profession or studies, or describe what someone in your family does. Use words from this lesson.
Writing: Consonants — ca-group (च छ ज झ ञ)
Practice words
| Word | Romanization |
|---|---|
| चाय | cāy |
| जी | jī |
| छात्र | chātr |
Today's consonant group is the ca-group (चवर्ग [cavarga]) — palatal consonants made with the middle of your tongue touching the hard palate.
Today's consonants:
- च [ca] — like 'ch' in 'church' (unaspirated)
- छ [cha] — like 'ch' in 'church' with a strong puff of air
- ज [ja] — like 'j' in 'jump'
- झ [jha] — like 'j' in 'jump' with a puff of air
- ञ [ña] — like 'ny' in 'canyon' (rare as standalone)
The same 5-letter pattern continues: unvoiced → unvoiced aspirated → voiced → voiced aspirated → nasal. You'll see this pattern in every consonant group!
Takeaway
आप क्या करते हैं? [āp kyā karte haĩ?] is the standard way to ask 'What do you do?' in Hindi. The present habitual tense (करता/करती/करते [kartā/kartī/karte] + हूँ/है/हैं [hū̃/hai/haĩ]) is one of the most used tenses in Hindi — master it and you can talk about daily life!