Verbs are the engines of every sentence, and the good news is that Punjabi verbs follow patterns that are friendly to beginners. Once you learn how a verb looks in its basic form and how the small word for "is" or "am" works, you can start building simple sentences right away. This guide walks you through the most useful everyday verbs, shows you the verb "to be," and gives you a few easy examples you can say out loud today. If you are brand new, you may also enjoy pairing this with some ready-made Punjabi Phrases to hear these verbs in action.
The dictionary form ends in -ਣਾ / -ਨਾ
When you look up a Punjabi verb, you will almost always find it in its infinitive form, which means the basic "to do something" form. These dictionary forms end in -ਣਾ or -ਨਾ, both romanized as -na. Here are seven common ones:
- ਜਾਣਾ (jaana, to go)
- ਆਉਣਾ (aauna, to come)
- ਖਾਣਾ (khaana, to eat)
- ਪੀਣਾ (peena, to drink)
- ਬੋਲਣਾ (bolna, to speak)
- ਕਰਨਾ (karna, to do)
- ਵੇਖਣਾ (vekhna, to see)
Notice the shared -na ending. Once you spot it, you will recognize a verb instantly, even in a word list you have never seen before.
More useful everyday verbs
Here is a wider set of common verbs to grow your vocabulary. Try reading each one aloud:
- ਸੌਣਾ (sauna, to sleep)
- ਤੁਰਨਾ (turna, to walk)
- ਪੜ੍ਹਨਾ (parhna, to read)
- ਲਿਖਣਾ (likhna, to write)
- ਸੁਣਨਾ (sunna, to listen)
- ਦੇਣਾ (dena, to give)
- ਲੈਣਾ (laina, to take)
- ਬਣਾਉਣਾ (banauna, to make)
Together with the first seven, that gives you fifteen verbs covering most of daily life: going, coming, eating, drinking, speaking, doing, seeing, sleeping, walking, reading, writing, listening, giving, taking, and making. Learning a handful of these well is far more useful than memorizing a long list you will forget.
The verb "to be"
Almost every simple sentence needs a small word that means "am," "is," or "are." In Punjabi present tense, the form changes depending on who you are talking about:
- ਹਾਂ (haan, I am)
- ਹੈ (hai, he / she / it is)
- ਹੋ (ho, you are, respectful)
- ਹਨ / ਨੇ (han / ne, they are)
For example, ਮੈਂ ਅਧਿਆਪਕ ਹਾਂ (main adhiapak haan, I am a teacher) and ਉਹ ਚੰਗਾ ਹੈ (uh changa hai, he is good). These tiny words appear constantly, so they are worth practicing early.
The verb comes at the end
Here is one of the most helpful things to remember as a beginner: in Punjabi, the verb usually comes at the end of the sentence. The common order is subject, then object, then verb. In English we say "I drink tea," but in Punjabi the word order is closer to "I tea drink."
In Punjabi, the action word waits politely at the end of the sentence.
Keeping this pattern in mind will make your early sentences sound natural rather than translated word for word.
Simple present-tense sentences
Now let us put it all together. In the present tense, the main verb takes an ending and is followed by the "to be" word. Look at these short examples:
- ਮੈਂ ਚਾਹ ਪੀਂਦਾ ਹਾਂ (main chah peenda haan, I drink tea)
- ਮੈਂ ਰੋਟੀ ਖਾਂਦਾ ਹਾਂ (main roti khaanda haan, I eat bread)
- ਉਹ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਬੋਲਦਾ ਹੈ (uh punjabi bolda hai, he speaks Punjabi)
In each one, the subject comes first, the object sits in the middle, and the verb plus "to be" finishes the thought. A small note: the verb ending shifts slightly for male and female speakers (peenda for a man, peendi for a woman), but do not worry about mastering that yet.
How to practice
The fastest way to make these verbs stick is to use them in real, tiny sentences about your own day. Say what you eat, drink, see, and do. Start with the fifteen verbs above, add the four "to be" words, and keep your sentences short. As your word bank grows, browse more useful words in our Punjabi Vocabulary list and combine them with these verbs. Little by little, those simple subject, object, verb sentences will start to feel natural, and you will be speaking real Punjabi sooner than you expect.