Must, can, must not: chaahiye and sakna
Need is said by chaahiye, and it changes neither by person nor by number. For me and for you — one and the same. Who needs it, mujhe, tumhein, aap ko says at the start: mujhe paani chaahiye — I need water. For example: “مجھے نمک چاہیے” — I need salt. A rule from the Urdu course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Need is said by chaahiye, and it changes neither by person nor by number. For me and for you — one and the same. Who needs it, mujhe, tumhein, aap ko says at the start: mujhe paani chaahiye — I need water.
Ability and possibility carry the familiar karna with the helper sakna: main tair sakta hoon — I can swim. The helper changes by gender: a woman says sakti hoon. Negation stands before it: main nahin ja sakta — I cannot go.
The ban is the same negation with the plural verb: aaj nahin ja sakte — today one cannot go. No harsh word for "forbidden" is sought in daily life: the soft nahin with a verb does all the work.
Table
| Sense | How to say | Example |
|---|---|---|
| must, need | چاہیے | مجھے پانی چاہیے — I need water |
| want | چاہتا ہوں | میں چائے چاہتا ہوں — I want tea |
| can, know how | سکتا ہوں | میں تیر سکتا ہوں — I can swim |
| cannot | نہیں سکتا | میں نہیں جا سکتا — I cannot go |
| must not | نہیں + verb | آج نہیں جا سکتے — today one cannot go |
By example
- مجھے نمک چاہیےmujhe namak chahiyeI need salt
- میں تیر سکتا ہوںmain tair sakta hunI can swim
- آج نہیں جا سکتےadzh nahin dzha sakteToday one cannot go
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
How to say i need in urdu?
Need is said by chaahiye, and it changes neither by person nor by number. For me and for you — one and the same. Who needs it, mujhe, tumhein, aap ko says at the start: mujhe paani chaahiye — I need water.
Chaahiye vs sakna urdu?
Need is said by chaahiye, and it changes neither by person nor by number. For me and for you — one and the same. Who needs it, mujhe, tumhein, aap ko says at the start: mujhe paani chaahiye — I need water.
How to say i cannot in urdu?
The ban is the same negation with the plural verb: aaj nahin ja sakte — today one cannot go. No harsh word for "forbidden" is sought in daily life: the soft nahin with a verb does all the work.
How to say not allowed in urdu?
The ban is the same negation with the plural verb: aaj nahin ja sakte — today one cannot go. No harsh word for "forbidden" is sought in daily life: the soft nahin with a verb does all the work.
What does it look like in a Urdu example sentence?
“مجھے نمک چاہیے” (mujhe namak chahiye) — I need salt. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.