Gujarati Compound Verbs and Feelings: લાગવું, આવવું and થવું
How Gujarati expresses hunger, sleepiness, cold and other feelings with 'to feel' and 'to come' verbs, and how noun-plus-verb combinations build new meanings.
Many Gujarati expressions don't translate word for word. Instead of "I am hungry", Gujarati says "hunger strikes me". Understanding this pattern unlocks a large group of everyday phrases.
Feelings with લાગવું (to feel, to strike)
The verb લાગવું works with a noun and the person in the dative (with ને or a pronoun ending in -ને):
- મને ભૂખ લાગી છે. — I'm hungry. (literally "hunger has struck me")
- મને તરસ લાગી છે. — I'm thirsty.
- મને ઠંડી લાગે છે. — I feel cold.
- મને ગરમી લાગે છે. — I feel hot.
- મને બીક લાગે છે. — I'm afraid.
- મને થાક લાગ્યો છે. — I'm tired.
- મને શરમ લાગે છે. — I feel shy, ashamed.
- તમને કેવું લાગે છે? — How do you feel? / What do you think of it?
- મને સારું લાગે છે. — I feel good.
Notice that the verb agrees with the feeling, not with the person: ભૂખ is feminine, so લાગી છે; થાક is masculine, so લાગ્યો છે.
Feelings with આવવું (to come)
- મને ઊંઘ આવે છે. — I'm sleepy. (literally "sleep comes to me")
- મને ઉધરસ આવે છે. — I have a cough.
- મને રડવું આવે છે. — I feel like crying.
- મને ગુસ્સો આવે છે. — I'm getting angry.
- મને હસવું આવે છે. — I feel like laughing.
- મને યાદ આવે છે. — I remember / I miss (something).
Liking with ગમવું
- મને ચા ગમે છે. — I like tea.
- મને ગુજરાતી ખાવાનું ગમે છે. — I like Gujarati food.
- તમને શું ગમે છે? — What do you like?
The thing you like is the grammatical subject: મને આ ગીત ગમે છે. — I like this song.
Needing with જોઈએ
જોઈએ means "is needed" (I need / I want):
- મને પાણી જોઈએ છે. — I need water.
- તમને શું જોઈએ છે? — What do you want?
- મને વધુ સમય જોઈએ. — I need more time.
Experiencing with થવું (to become, to happen)
- મને દુઃખ થયું. — I felt sad.
- મને આનંદ થયો. — I felt happy.
- મને દુખાવો થાય છે. — I have pain.
- મને તાવ આવ્યો છે. — I have a fever.
Noun + કરવું (to do)
Many actions are formed with a noun and કરવું:
- કામ કરવું — to work
- વાત કરવી — to talk
- શરૂ કરવું — to start
- બંધ કરવું — to stop, close
- ફોન કરવો — to phone
- મદદ કરવી — to help
- પસંદ કરવું — to choose
- અભ્યાસ કરવો — to study
Noun + થવું (to be, to happen)
- શરૂ થવું — to begin
- બંધ થવું — to close, stop
- પૂરું થવું — to finish
- ખુશ થવું — to become happy
Why dictionaries need phrases
If you look up ભૂખ, you'll find "hunger", but not how to use it. Check example sentences to see the verb pattern.
Learning strategy
- Learn feelings as phrases: ભૂખ લાગવી, ઊંઘ આવવી.
- Note that the verb agrees with the noun.
- Practise saying how you feel several times a day.
- Group phrases by verb.
Common beginner errors
- Saying હું ભૂખ છું (I am hunger).
- Making the verb agree with the person.
- Forgetting મને.
Look up Gujarati phrases and verbs with English Gujarati Dictionary →
English Gujarati Dictionary
Offline English–Gujarati dictionary with meanings in proper Gujarati script
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