There are three verbs in Hindi which can be translated “to be”: होना, रहना, and बनना.
Their usage is quite subtle and complex. I’ll try to add more examples to this note as I think of them.
Here are examples of situations in which each verb is used:
तूफ़ान के बाद हमारे घर का एक भी निशान नहीं रहा, जैसे कि उसका कभी अस्तित्व न रहा हो – “After the storm, not even a single trace of our home remained, as if it had never existed”
क्यों गधे जैसे बन रहे हो – “Why are you acting like an ass?”
अच्छे बनो – “Be nice”
खड़े हो – “Stand up”
इस मुद्दे पर टिपण्णी करना उचित नहीं रहेगा – “It wouldn’t be appropriate to comment on this issue”
बच्चे के तकिये में सितारे बने हुए हैं – “There are stars on the child’s pillow”
वह दस सालों तक उस संगठन का सदस्य बना रहा – “He remained a member of the organization for ten years”
होनी को कौन टाल सकता है – “Who can prolong existence?”
होनी = “being”/”existence”
देश का निर्यात लक्ष्य से पीछे रह गया – “The country’s export has fallen behind the target”
अच्छा हुआ कि तुम आये – “It’s good that you came”
तुम्हारा बच्चा बहुत बड़ा हो गया है – “Your little boy has gotten so big!”
2 replies on “होना, रहना, and बनना”
Hai David..Is there any logic in choosing the appropriate one among होना, रहना, and बनना in the sentences??
No, unfortunately, it is hard to define “rules”. You’ll just have to gain an intuition from experience.