The Many Meanings of देना

01

Literal Meaning: To Give

In its most basic form, देना (denādena) describes the transfer of an object from one person to another. When identifying the recipient (the person receiving the item), you must mark them with the postposition को (ko), which functions like to in English.

• कृपया मुझे पानी दीजिये।

  kṛpayā mujhe pānī dījiye.krpaya mujhe pani dijiye.

  Please give me water.

• उसने रवि को एक किताब दी।

  usne ravi ko ek kitāb dī.usne rawi ko ek kitab di.

  He gave a book to Ravi.

• मैं तुम्हें पैसे दूँगा।

  maiṃ tumheṃ paise dū̃gā.maiṃ tumheṃ paise dunga.

  I will give you money.

02

Auxiliary Verb: Direction and Completeness

देना (denādena) is widely used as an auxiliary (helper) verb in compound verb structures. In this context, it loses its literal meaning of "giving." Instead, it modifies the main verb to indicate two specific nuances:

• Direction: The action is directed away from the subject (outward).
• Completeness: The action has been completed fully or with a sense of finality.

To form this, you take the root of the main verb and conjugate देना (denādena) according to the tense.

• उसने पत्र भेज दिया।

  usne patr bhej diyā.usne patr bhej diya.

  He sent the letter (sent it away/off).

• मैंने पुरानी कार बेच दी।

  maine purānī kār bec dī.maine purani kar bech di.

  I sold the old car (sold it off).

• उसने कूड़ा फेंक दिया।

  usne kūṛā pheṃk diyā.usne kura pheṃk diya.

  He threw away the trash.

In the examples above, बेच देना (beca denābecha dena) - to sell off implies a more complete or final action than just बेचना (becnābechna) - to sell.

03

Auxiliary Verb: Benefaction (Doing for Others)

Another crucial function of देना (denādena) as a helper verb is to show that an action is performed for the benefit of someone else. This contrasts with the verb लेना (lenālena), which implies doing something for oneself.

• कृपया यह काम कर दीजिये।

  kṛpayā yah kām kar dījiye.krpaya yah kam kar dijiye.

  Please do this work (for me/us).

• मैं तुम्हें यह समझा देता हूँ।

  maiṃ tumheṃ yah samjhā detā hū̃.maiṃ tumheṃ yah samjha deta hun.

  I (will) explain this to you (for your benefit).

• माँ ने बच्चों के लिए खाना बना दिया।

  mā̃ ne baccoṃ ke lie khānā banā diyā.man ne bachchoṃ ke lie khana bana diya.

  Mother cooked food for the children.

04

Permissive: To Let or Allow

When you want to say "let" or "allow" in Hindi, you use देना (denādena) combined with the oblique infinitive of the main verb. The main verb changes its ending to -ने (-ne), followed by the conjugated form of देना (denādena).

Structure: [Verb root + ने (ne)] + [देना (denādena)]

• मुझे जाने दो।

  mujhe jāne do.mujhe jane do.

  Let me go.

• वह मुझे सोने नहीं देता।

  vah mujhe sone nahīṃ detā.wah mujhe sone nahiṃ deta.

  He does not let me sleep.

• पिताजी ने मुझे कार चलाने दी।

  pitājī ne mujhe kār calāne dī.pitaji ne mujhe kar chalane di.

  Father let me drive the car.

05

Idiomatic Uses

Finally, देना (denādena) is paired with many nouns to form complex verbs. In these cases, the noun carries the meaning, and देना (denādena) simply acts as the verbalizer.

• जवाब देना (javāba denājawaba dena) - to answer (literally: to give answer)
• दिखाई देना (dikhāī denādikhai dena) - to be visible / to appear
• धोखा देना (dhokhā denādhokha dena) - to cheat / to betray

• उसने मेरे सवाल का जवाब नहीं दिया।

  usne mere savāl kā javāb nahīṃ diyā.usne mere sawal ka jawab nahiṃ diya.

  He did not answer my question.

• वहाँ एक पक्षी दिखाई दिया।

  vahā̃ ek pakṣī dikhāī diyā.wahan ek pakshi dikhai diya.

  A bird appeared there.