Three ways to say “I like” in Hindi

                                   १.  पसंद

1. How to say “I like” using noun पसंद (pasand – approval; choice; preference). The Hindi construction of “I like” is very similar to that of मेरे पास है (mere paas hai – I have) and चाहिए (chaahie – is wanted; is needful).

 

मुझे पसंद	mujhe pasand	I like
तुझे पसंद	tujhe pasand	You like (casual)
तुम्हे पसंद	tumhe pasand	You like (casual)
आपको पसंद	aapko pasand	You like (polite)
इसको/उसको पसंद	isko/usko pasand	He/she likes
हमें पसंद	hamen pasand	We like
तुम्हे पसंद	tumhe pasand	You like (casual)
आपको पसंद	aapko pasand	You like (polite)
इनको/ उनको पसंद	inko/unko pasand	They like

At the entrance of Qutub Minar

Examples illustrating the usage of पसंद (pasand – approval; choice; preference):

मुझे भारत बहुत पसंद है। mujhe bhaarat bahut pasand hai I like India very much.

आप मुझे बहुत पसंद हैं। aap mujhe bahut pasand hain I like you very much.

मुझे यह साड़ी नहीं पसंद। mujheyah saadee naheen pasand I don't like this sari.

आपको खाने में क्या - क्या पसंद है? aapko khaane men kya kya pasand hai? What do you like to eat?

मुझे सिर्फ दाल रोटी पसंद है। mujhe sirf daal roTee pasand hai. I only like daal and roti.

इसको शोपिंग करना नहीं पसंद। isko shoping karnaa naheen pasand He doesn't like shopping.

क्या आपको यह  तौफा  पसंद है? kyaa aapko yah tofaa pasand hai? Do you like this gift?

हाँ, पसंद है। haan, pasand hai Yes, I like.

पसंद  meaning as in Oxford Hindi-English dictionary: 

Pasand – 1. adj. approved, liked. 2.f. approval. 3. Choice; preference. पसंद आना (pasand aanaa) -  to be approved, liked (by को (ko)); to please. पसंद करना (pasand karnaa) – to approve, to like, to choose, to prefer; to accept (a submission) अमनपसंद (amanpasand) – adj. who approves peace; peace-loving  दिलपसंद (dilpasand) – adj. pleasing to the heart, or mind.

Sari borders in the Indian market

                                                       २. अच्छा लगता 

2. The second very common way to say “I like” is to use a phrase अच्छा लगता (achhaa lagtaa – seem good; think to be good; feel to be good). To say “I like” in Hindi we will say: मुझे अछा लगता ह (mujhe achhaa lagtaa hai – I like). To say “I don’t like” we would add नहीं (naheen – no) before the verb and we would have मुझे अछा नहीं लगता (mujhe achhaa naheen lagtaa – I don’t like). To make a question “Do you like?” we would add क्या (kyaa – what; a word used to make a question) and we will have: क्या तुझे अछा लगता? (kyaa tujhe achhaa lagtaa – Do you like?).

मुझे अच्छा  लगता	mujhe achchhaa lagtaa	I like
तुझे अच्छा  लगता	tujhe achchhaa lagtaa	You like (casual)
तुम्हे अच्छा  लगता	tumhe achchhaa lagtaa	You like (casual)
आपको अच्छा लगता	aapko achchhaa lagtaa	You like (polite)
इसको/उसको अच्छा लगता	isko/unko achchhaa lagtaa	He/she likes
हमें अच्छा लगता	hamen achchhaa lagtaa	We like
तुम्हे अच्छा लगता	tumko achchhaa lagtaa	You like (casual)
आपको अच्छा लगता	aapko achchaa lagtaa	You like (polite)
इनको/उनको अच्छा लगता	inko/unko achhhaa lagta	They like

As you can see, अच्छा लगता never changes its endings no matter which person is using it. It is pretty easy to use it and I would recommend learning its past and future tenses too. If you want to say “I liked” or “I enjoyed” in the past tense, you can say: अच्छा लगा (achchhaa lagaa ) and if you want to say “I’ll like” or “I’ll enjoy” you can say: अच्छा लगेगा (achchhaa lagegaa ).

When does it change? It changes when we use अच्छा लगता (achchhaa lagtaa) when talking about a feminine noun. For example if we want to say “I like that girl” we say: मुझे वह लड़की अच्छी लगती (mujhe vah ladkee achchhee lagtee) but if we want to say “I like that boy”, we say मुझे वह लड़का अच्छा लगता (mujhe vah ladkaa achchhaa lagtaa).

Some more examples:

मुझे घर में रहना अच्छा लगता है। mujhe ghar men rahnaa achchhaa lagtaa hai. I like staying at home.

मुझे बारिश अच्छी लगती है। mujhe baarish achchhee lagtee hai. I like rain.

उसको वह लड़की अच्छी नहीं लगती है।   usko vah ladkee achchhee naheen lagtee hai He doesn't like that girl.

इंडिया आपको कैसा लगा था? indiyaa aapko kaisaa lagaa tha How did you like India?

बहुत अच्छा लगा था। bahut achchaa lagaa tha I liked it.

                                ३. शौक़

3. The third way that can express something you like is to say मुझे...का शौक़ है (mujhe…kaa shauk hai – I like…/My hobby is…/My interest is…). It is used when you want to say what your hobby or interest or passion is. For example “I like reading” would be मुझे पढ़ने का शौक़ है (mujhe parhne kaa shauk hai). If you want to ask someone what is their hobby, you can say: आपको किस चीज़ का शौक़ है?  (aapko kis cheez kaa shauk hai? – What is your hobby? Lit. you what kind thing of hobby is).

शौक़ shauq as in Oxford Hindi-English dictionary:  1. m. a desire, yearning; 2. Predilection; taste (for, का); fancy (for). 3. Eagerness, pleasure (in doing sthg). 4. A hobby शौक़ फ़रमाइए! (shauq farmaaie) – help yourself!, take all you want! शौक़ मिटाना (shauq miTaanaa) – to satisfy a desire शौक़ होना (को) (shauq honaa (ko)) – to be fond (of some activity) शौक़ से (shauq se) – with pleasure, gladly, according to one’s wish.

                                           Some example sentences:

मुझे डोसा खाने का बहुत शौक़ है  mujhe dosaa khaane kaa bahut shauq hai I like eating dosa very much.

मुझे क्रिकेट  खेलने का  बहुत शौक़ है mujhe krikeT khelne kaa bahut shauq hai I like playing cricket very much.

उसको किताबें  पढ़ने का  बहुत शौक़ है usko kitaben parhne kaa bahut shauq hai He likes reading books very much.

वह लड्डू  इतने  शौक़ से खा रहा है vah laddoo itne shauq se khaa rahaa hai She is eating laddu with so much pleasure.