B1 · Causatives and the passive
Having something done: बनवाना, करवाना
the causative in -वाना
Stem + वाना: have someone else do it. मैंने बाल कटवाए, “I had my hair cut”; the person who does it takes से.
At a glance
- Remember
- Stem plus -vana: someone else does it, and that someone takes se.
- Form
- बनाना → बनवानाto build → to have built
- Signal words
- -वाना
- करवाना
- कराना
- बनवाना
- से
- Trap
- Wrong:मैंने नाई को बाल कटवाए।Right:मैंने नाई से बाल कटवाए।
Your turn
10 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
The form
From the base form to the new form
Each row first says what the form expresses, then shows it in Hindi: the base form before the arrow, the result after it.
| to build → to have built | बनाना → बनवाना |
| to cut → to have cut | काटना → कटवाना |
| to wash → to have washed | धोना → धुलवाना |
| to sew → to have sewn | सीना → सिलवाना |
| to do → to have done | करना → करवाना, कराना |
| the doer | दर्ज़ी से, नाई से |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
Stem + -वाना means “have someone do it”.
वे अपनी दुकान बनवा रहे हैं।They are having their shop built.
The person who does the work takes से.
उसने दर्ज़ी से एक कुर्ता सिलवाया।He had a kurta made by the tailor.
In the past it takes ने and agrees with the object.
मैंने कल बाल कटवाए।I had my hair cut yesterday.
करना gives करवाना or कराना.
मैंने मैकेनिक से गाड़ी ठीक करवाई।I had the mechanic fix the car.
Example sentences
मैंने कल बाल कटवाए।I had my hair cut yesterday.
हम नया घर बनवा रहे हैं।We are having a new house built.
उसने दर्ज़ी से एक कुर्ता सिलवाया।He had a kurta made by the tailor.
मुझे अपनी गाड़ी ठीक करवानी है।I need to get my car repaired.
मैं अपने कपड़े धुलवाता हूँ।I have my clothes washed.
डॉक्टर ने कुछ टेस्ट करवाए।The doctor had some tests done.
5 more example sentences
हमने पूरे घर की सफ़ाई करवाई।We had the whole house cleaned.
मैं हर महीने बाल कटवाती हूँ।I have my hair cut every month.
उन्होंने एक नई अलमारी बनवाई।They had a new cupboard made.
कल अपनी आँखें चेक करवाइए।Have your eyes checked tomorrow.
टीचर ने बच्चों से कविता पढ़वाई।The teacher had the children read the poem aloud.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
The barber is the one through whom the cutting is done, and that is से, not को. English “I had the barber cut my hair” suggests an object; Hindi treats the barber as the means.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
English “I had my hair cut” or “we are having a house built” uses “have” or “get” and a past participle. Hindi builds one verb: stem + -वाना. काटना, to cut → कटवाना, to have cut; बनाना, to build → बनवाना, to have built; लिखना → लिखवाना; धोना → धुलवाना; सीना → सिलवाना.
A long vowel in the stem is usually shortened: काटना → कटवाना, धोना → धुलवाना, सीना → सिलवाना. The causative of करना has two forms, करवाना and कराना, used interchangeably: ठीक करवाना, ठीक कराना, “to have repaired”.
The person who actually does the work — the barber, the tailor, the mechanic — takes से: मैंने दर्ज़ी से कुर्ता सिलवाया, “I had a kurta made by the tailor”. Often they are not mentioned at all.
A -वाना verb is transitive, so in the past it takes ने and agrees with the object: मैंने गाड़ी ठीक करवाई, feminine because of गाड़ी; मैंने बाल कटवाए, masculine plural because of बाल.
A closer look
-आना and -वाना
A verb can have both: पढ़ाना, to teach (someone reads because of me), and पढ़वाना, to have something read (by someone else, to me or to others). बनाना, to make, and बनवाना, to have made. The -वाना form puts one more person between you and the work.
Worth knowing (1)
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Ordering at home
In many households, food, tea and repairs are talked about in the causative: खाना बनवा दिया है, “I’ve had the food made”; नल ठीक करवाना है, “the tap needs to be seen to”. The form says nothing about who is in charge; it simply puts the work in other hands.
मुझे यह घड़ी ठीक करवानी है।I need to get this watch repaired.
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