چاہنا (chāhnā): “To Want” in Urdu

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concept: ur-a1-chahna-want lang: ur ui: en title: چاہنا (chāhnā): “To Want” in Urdu description: >- Learn to use Urdu چاہنا (chāhnā, “to want”) with nouns and infinitives, including gender agreement, negatives, polite requests, and advanced patterns. generation: article: version: native-ui-reference-v3.1 model: openai-codex/gpt-5.6-sol at: 2026-07-12T09:01:25Z

reviews: spell-check: status: clean at: 2026-07-12T09:01:25Z score: 0 score-english: null score-coverage: null criteria: v7 language-mixing: status: clean at: 2026-07-12T12:00:00Z criteria: v2

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In Brief

Urdu چاہنا (chāhnā) means “to want.” Put a noun before it for a thing you want—میں پانی چاہتا ہوں “I want water”—or put an infinitive (the basic verb form ending in نا) before it for an action: میں جانا چاہتی ہوں “I want to go.” In the present, چاہتا، چاہتی، چاہتے agrees with the subject’s gender and number.

Overview

چاہنا is an essential A1 verb for expressing wishes, choices, and intentions. You can use it to say that you want tea, want to rest, or want to learn Urdu. Its basic word order will feel different to an English speaker: Urdu normally places the thing or action wanted before the verb, so “I Urdu learn want” is the underlying order of میں اردو سیکھنا چاہتا ہوں.

The present forms follow the present habitual pattern (the common present form built with تا/تی/تے plus a form of “to be”). Unlike English “I want,” the Urdu form shows the speaker’s gender: a male speaker says میں چاہتا ہوں, while a female speaker says میں چاہتی ہوں. Number and respect also affect the ending.

A grammatically direct statement of desire is not always the most natural request. English speakers often use “I want…” while ordering food or asking for something, but Urdu commonly softens such requests with چاہیے (chāhiye, “is needed / would like”) or a polite imperative. This article first teaches the simple چاہنا pattern, then separates those politeness and advanced points from the beginner rule.

How It Works

The basic form

The infinitive چاہنا consists of the stem چاہـ (chāh-) and the infinitive ending نا (-nā). In the present habitual, add an agreement ending and then the appropriate present form of ہونا (honā, “to be”):

چاہـ + تا / تی / تے + ہوں / ہو / ہے / ہیں

A participle is a verb form that also shows qualities such as gender and number. Here, چاہتا، چاہتی، چاہتے are habitual participles.

Subject	Masculine	Feminine	English
میں	چاہتا ہوں (chāhtā hūṅ)	چاہتی ہوں (chāhtī hūṅ)	I want
تم	چاہتے ہو (chāhte ho)	چاہتی ہو (chāhtī ho)	you want (informal)
آپ	چاہتے ہیں (chāhte haiṅ)	چاہتی ہیں (chāhtī haiṅ)	you want (respectful)
یہ / وہ	چاہتا ہے (chāhtā hai)	چاہتی ہے (chāhtī hai)	he/she wants
ہم	چاہتے ہیں (chāhte haiṅ)	چاہتی ہیں (chāhtī haiṅ)	we want
یہ / وہ (plural)	چاہتے ہیں (chāhte haiṅ)	چاہتی ہیں (chāhtī haiṅ)	they want

Use the masculine plural form for an all-male or mixed group. An all-female group takes the feminine plural form. Respectful singular آپ behaves grammatically like a plural and therefore takes ہیں, not ہے.

Urdu often omits a subject pronoun when context makes it obvious, but beginners may keep it while learning the forms. In پانی چاہتی ہوں, the endings already indicate a female “I” in the usual context.

Wanting a thing

The simplest pattern is:

subject + thing wanted + form of چاہنا

• میں چائے چاہتی ہوں۔ — I want tea. (female speaker)
• وہ نئی کتاب چاہتا ہے۔ — He wants a new book.
• آپ کیا چاہتے ہیں؟ — What do you want? (respectful)

The thing wanted is the direct object (the person or thing directly affected by the verb). Urdu normally puts it before چاہنا. The verb’s present-habitual ending agrees with the subject, not with the object: علی چائے چاہتا ہے uses masculine چاہتا because Ali is male; the gender of چائے does not control this form.

Wanting to do something

When the desired action has the same subject as چاہنا, put that action’s infinitive directly before چاہنا:

subject + other information + infinitive + form of چاہنا

Building block	Urdu	Meaning
infinitive	جانا	to go
wanting phrase, male	جانا چاہتا ہوں	I want to go
wanting phrase, female	جانا چاہتی ہوں	I want to go

The first verb stays in its infinitive form. English uses “to” before the second verb; Urdu uses the نا form instead and puts it before چاہنا:

• “We want to learn Urdu.” → ہم اردو سیکھنا چاہتے ہیں۔
• “She wants to sleep.” → وہ سونا چاہتی ہے۔

Do not conjugate both verbs. Gender and number are shown on چاہنا, while سیکھنا، سونا، جانا remain infinitives in this pattern.

Questions

Urdu can form a yes/no question by adding کیا at the beginning. The ordinary sentence order remains unchanged:

• کیا تم چائے پینا چاہتے ہو؟ — Do you want to drink tea?
• کیا آپ بیٹھنا چاہتی ہیں؟ — Do you want to sit? (respectful, addressing a woman)

With a question word such as کیا “what,” the question word usually occupies the place of the missing information:

• آپ کیا چاہتے ہیں؟ — What do you want?
• تم کہاں جانا چاہتے ہو؟ — Where do you want to go?

The two uses of کیا are distinguishable by position and context: sentence-initial کیا often marks a yes/no question, while object کیا means “what.”

Making it negative

Place نہیں (nahīṅ, “not”) before چاہنا, not before the infinitive:

subject + noun/infinitive + نہیں + form of چاہنا

• میں ابھی نہیں جانا چاہتی۔ — I do not want to go now. (female speaker)
• وہ کھانا نہیں چاہتا۔ — He does not want food.

In everyday Urdu, the final form of ہونا is often omitted in a negative present sentence, especially in speech: both میں نہیں جانا چاہتا ہوں and میں نہیں جانا چاہتا occur. Keeping ہوں/ہے/ہیں is a clear, safe pattern for a beginner; learn to recognize the shorter version as well.

Examples in Context

The transliteration below is a pronunciation aid, not a substitute for learning the Urdu script.

Urdu	Romanization	English	Note
میں پانی چاہتا ہوں۔	maiṅ pānī chāhtā hūṅ	I want water.	Male speaker
میں جانا چاہتی ہوں۔	maiṅ jānā chāhtī hūṅ	I want to go.	Female speaker
آپ کیا چاہتے ہیں؟	āp kyā chāhte haiṅ?	What do you want?	Respectful; default masculine form
آپ کیا چاہتی ہیں؟	āp kyā chāhtī haiṅ?	What do you want?	Respectfully addressing a woman
وہ کھانا نہیں چاہتا۔	vo khānā nahīṅ chāhtā	He does not want food.	Negative; auxiliary omitted
ہم اردو سیکھنا چاہتے ہیں۔	ham urdū sīkhnā chāhte haiṅ	We want to learn Urdu.	Infinitive complement
کیا تم چائے پینا چاہتی ہو؟	kyā tum chāy pīnā chāhtī ho?	Do you want to drink tea?	Informal; addressing a woman
بچے باہر کھیلنا چاہتے ہیں۔	bacche bāhar khelnā chāhte haiṅ	The children want to play outside.	Masculine or mixed plural
لڑکیاں گھر جانا چاہتی ہیں۔	laṛkiyāṅ ghar jānā chāhtī haiṅ	The girls want to go home.	Feminine plural
میں ابھی بات نہیں کرنا چاہتا۔	maiṅ abhī bāt nahīṅ karnā chāhtā	I do not want to talk right now.	Male speaker; natural short negative
تم کہاں بیٹھنا چاہتے ہو؟	tum kahāṅ baiṭhnā chāhte ho?	Where do you want to sit?	Informal question
وہ نئی ملازمت چاہتی ہے۔	vo naī mulāzamat chāhtī hai	She wants a new job.	Noun object
میں چاہتا ہوں کہ وہ آئے۔	maiṅ chāhtā hūṅ ke vo āe	I want him/her to come.	Different subjects; advanced clause

Common Mistakes

Using the same form for every speaker

• Wrong: میں جانا چاہتا ہوں۔ said by a female speaker
• Right: میں جانا چاہتی ہوں۔
• Why: Present چاہنا agrees with the subject. English does not mark this distinction, so English speakers need to make gender part of the whole phrase they memorize.

Conjugating the first verb

• Wrong: میں جاتا چاہتا ہوں۔
• Right: میں جانا چاہتا ہوں۔
• Why: In “want to go,” جانا must be the infinitive, the basic نا form. Only چاہنا carries the present agreement here.

Copying English word order

• Wrong: میں چاہتا ہوں جانا۔
• Right: میں جانا چاہتا ہوں۔
• Why: Urdu normally puts the infinitive complement before چاہنا. Put the desired action first, then the wanting verb.

Making the verb agree with the thing wanted

• Wrong: علی چائے چاہتی ہے۔
• Right: علی چائے چاہتا ہے۔
• Why: In this present pattern, چاہتا agrees with Ali, the subject, not with feminine چائے “tea.”

Using ہے with آپ

• Wrong: آپ کیا چاہتا ہے؟
• Right: آپ کیا چاہتے ہیں؟
• Why: Respectful آپ takes plural agreement: normally چاہتے ہیں, or چاہتی ہیں when respectfully addressing a woman.

Sounding too direct when requesting service

• Too direct in some situations: میں چائے چاہتا ہوں۔
• More natural request: مجھے چائے چاہیے۔
• Why: The first sentence states a desire. At a café, in someone’s home, or when asking another person to provide something, چاہیے often sounds softer and more idiomatic.

Usage Notes

چاہنا versus چاہیے

These forms are related in meaning but do not use the same grammar.

Form	Basic pattern	Typical function
چاہنا	میں چائے چاہتا/چاہتی ہوں	state what I want
چاہیے	مجھے چائے چاہیے	say I need/would like tea
چاہیے	مجھے جانا چاہیے	say I should go

With چاہیے, the person is commonly marked by کو; pronouns then take forms such as مجھے “to me” and آپ کو “to you.” Do not combine the two patterns as though چاہیے were simply another ending of چاہنا. At A1, memorize مجھے ___ چاہیے as a useful polite chunk.

Respect and gender

آپ کیا چاہتے ہیں؟ is a common respectful question and may be used as a general/default form. When speaking specifically to a woman, آپ کیا چاہتی ہیں؟ explicitly shows feminine agreement. With تم, use چاہتے ہو for a male or mixed plural addressee and چاہتی ہو for a female addressee.

The intimate pronoun تو also exists, but it can sound affectionate, religious, poetic, or insulting depending on the relationship and tone. Beginners are safer using تم with familiar people and آپ when respect is appropriate.

Direct desire is not automatically rude

چاہنا is neutral when you are reporting your own plans or preferences: میں گھر جانا چاہتی ہوں is a normal statement. Directness becomes more noticeable when the listener is expected to give or do something. In those settings, چاہیے, براہِ کرم “please,” or a polite verb form can make the request gentler.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the following patterns at A1, but they explain forms you will encounter later.

When two people perform the two actions

The infinitive pattern works when the same person both wants and acts: میں جانا چاہتا ہوں “I want to go.” If one person wants a different person to act, Urdu commonly uses کہ (ke, “that”) plus a clause:

• میں چاہتا ہوں کہ وہ آئے۔ — I want him/her to come.
• ہم چاہتے ہیں کہ آپ یہاں بیٹھیں۔ — We want you to sit here.

The verb after کہ often appears in the subjunctive (a verb form used for wishes, possibilities, and desired actions), such as آئے and بیٹھیں. This belongs to a later stage of study; for now, recognize the pattern چاہنا + کہ + clause.

Other tenses

Because چاہنا is an ordinary verb, it can occur outside the present habitual:

Urdu	English	Point
میں جانا چاہتا تھا۔	I wanted to go.	Male speaker; past habitual/descriptive
میں جانا چاہتی تھی۔	I wanted to go.	Female speaker
میں نے یہی چاہا۔	I wanted exactly this.	Perfective form; advanced syntax

The last sentence uses نے, an ergative marker (a marker used with many subjects of completed transitive actions), and the perfective چاہا. Agreement in perfective transitive clauses follows rules different from the beginner present pattern, so learn those rules with the Urdu perfective rather than extending the present table mechanically.

“To love,” “to desire,” and literary style

چاہنا can also mean “to love,” “to desire,” or “to hold dear,” especially in romantic, poetic, and literary language: میں تمہیں چاہتا ہوں may mean “I love you” or “I desire you,” depending on context. It is not a word-for-word replacement for English “love” in every situation. Everyday Urdu also uses expressions built with محبت (mohabbat, “love”), such as میں تم سے محبت کرتا ہوں.

Context therefore matters: with an infinitive, چاہنا normally means “want to”; with a thing, it expresses desire; with a person, it can carry a stronger romantic or literary meaning.

Practice Tips

1. Build two personal sentence sets. Make five sentences with things—میں چائے چاہتا/چاہتی ہوں—and five with actions—میں آرام کرنا چاہتا/چاہتی ہوں. Choose the agreement form that matches you.
2. Swap the subject, not just the pronoun. Change میں جانا چاہتی ہوں into forms with وہ, ہم, تم, and آپ. Say the whole ending aloud so that چاہتی ہوں, چاہتی ہے, and چاہتی ہیں become separate sound patterns.
3. Practice intention versus request. Pair a direct statement such as میں چائے پینا چاہتا ہوں “I want to drink tea” with مجھے چائے چاہیے “I would like tea.” Notice which one fits a private preference and which one fits asking for something.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Present Habitual Tense — provides the تا/تی/تے + ہونا agreement pattern used by چاہنا.
• Later extension: Subjunctive Mood — needed for patterns such as میں چاہتا ہوں کہ وہ آئے when the desired action has a different subject.