Punjabi Imperatives: How to Give Commands and Make Polite Requests

Tell a Punjabi shopkeeper ਬੋਲ (bol, "speak") when you mean to ask him to repeat himself, and he will probably just laugh. Not because you got the word wrong. Because you commanded a stranger the way you'd order around a little brother. Punjabi imperatives carry the same tū/tusī formality split that runs through the whole language, and nowhere does getting it wrong land harder than in a direct command. A statement in the wrong register sounds odd. A command in the wrong register sounds like an insult.

This is the part of Punjabi grammar with the highest social stakes and, happily, one of the simplest structures once you see the pattern. Two verb endings cover almost every command you'll ever give. This post walks through both, how to soften them into requests, how to say "don't," and which everyday commands you'll actually reach for.

The Tū vs Tusī Split, and Why It's Not Optional Here

Every Punjabi verb has two imperative forms, tied to the same two-tier pronoun system covered in the guide to Punjabi pronouns and formality: one for ਤੂ (tū, intimate "you") and one for ਤੁਸੀਂ (tusī, formal or plural "you"). Statements let you get away with a slightly wrong register and just sound stiff or oddly casual. Commands don't offer that cushion. Telling your father-in-law ਬੈਠ (baiṭh, "sit," intimate form) instead of ਬੈਠੋ (baiṭho, "sit," formal form) isn't a grammar slip he'll politely ignore. It reads as a kid ordering around an elder, and Punjabi households notice that instantly.

The rule of thumb from the pronouns post applies directly here: default to the tusī form with anyone you don't know well, anyone older, and anyone in a service or professional role. Reserve the tū form for children, close friends your own age, and, in prayer and devotional address, God. If you're unsure which form a person expects, the formal ending costs you nothing. The informal one, used wrongly, costs you social capital you didn't mean to spend.

Base Imperative Forms: Bol/Bolo, Aa/Aao

The good news is that Punjabi imperatives are built off the bare verb stem, and the pattern is regular across nearly every verb you'll use daily.

The intimate (tū) imperative is usually just the stem itself, sometimes with a small vowel adjustment. The formal/plural (tusī) imperative adds -o to the stem.

Verb (infinitive)	Stem	Tū form	Tusī form
ਬੋਲਣਾ (bolṇā, to speak)	ਬੋਲ (bol)	ਬੋਲ (bol), "speak"	ਬੋਲੋ (bolo), "speak"
ਆਉਣਾ (āuṇā, to come)	ਆ (ā)	ਆ (ā), "come"	ਆਓ (āo), "come"
ਕਰਨਾ (karṇā, to do)	ਕਰ (kar)	ਕਰ (kar), "do"	ਕਰੋ (karo), "do"
ਬੈਠਣਾ (baiṭhṇā, to sit)	ਬੈਠ (baiṭh)	ਬੈਠ (baiṭh), "sit"	ਬੈਠੋ (baiṭho), "sit"
ਦੇਣਾ (deṇā, to give)	ਦੇ (de)	ਦੇ (de), "give"	ਦਿਓ (dio), "give"

Notice the pattern holds even for the slightly irregular ਦੇਣਾ (to give): the tū form is the bare stem de, and the tusī form still lands on that same -o/-io sound. This is why Punjabi imperatives are genuinely one of the easier parts of the verb system to acquire early. You already know the infinitive; strip the ending, and you very often have the command.

ਬੋਲ! Bol! "Speak!" (to a child or close friend)

ਬੋਲੋ। Bolo. "Please speak." / "Go ahead, speak." (to an elder, stranger, or group)

Same instruction, same verb, completely different social weight depending on which vowel you land on.

Softening a Command Into a Request

A bare imperative, even the formal tusī form, can still sound blunt in Punjabi the way "Sit" sounds blunter than "Please have a seat" in English. Three tools soften it.

ਜੀ (jī), the all-purpose honorific particle, tacked onto the end of almost anything:

ਬੈਠੋ ਜੀ। Baiṭho jī. "Please sit." (warm, respectful)

ਜ਼ਰਾ (zarā, "a little" or "just"), placed before the verb, softens the command into something closer to "just" or "would you mind":

ਜ਼ਰਾ ਸੁਣੋ। Zarā suṇo. "Just listen for a second." / "Would you listen a moment?"

ਮਿਹਰਬਾਨੀ ਕਰਕੇ (meharbānī karke, literally "doing a kindness," the closest equivalent to "please"), placed at the start of the sentence for the most formal register:

ਮਿਹਰਬਾਨੀ ਕਰਕੇ ਬੈਠੋ ਜੀ। Meharbānī karke baiṭho jī. "Please, kindly have a seat."

These stack. Zarā plus jī is extremely common in everyday polite speech: ਜ਼ਰਾ ਦੱਸੋ ਜੀ (zarā dasso jī, "would you mind telling me"). Meharbānī karke on its own already carries formality, so adding jī after it is not wrong but starts to sound slightly over-the-top, the Punjabi equivalent of "please, if you would be so kind, sir." Reserve the full stack for situations that genuinely call for it: addressing an elder you've just met, or a customer service context.

Here's a short exchange that shows the softeners doing real work, the kind you might hear at a counter in a Ludhiana bank or a Brampton grocery store:

ਮਿਹਰਬਾਨੀ ਕਰਕੇ ਇਹ ਫਾਰਮ ਭਰੋ ਜੀ। Meharbānī karke eh form bharo jī. "Please fill out this form."

ਜ਼ਰਾ ਪੈੱਨ ਦਿਓ ਜੀ। Zarā pen dio jī. "Could you pass me a pen, please?"

Neither sentence loses its status as a command, the listener is still being asked to do something specific, but the softeners shift it from an order to a request. That's the whole function of this layer of grammar: Punjabi doesn't have a separate grammatical mood for "requests" the way some languages do. It builds requests out of the imperative plus these particles.

Negative Commands: Na Karo and the Sharper Nahi

Telling someone not to do something uses a different negation word than telling someone a fact isn't true. This distinction is covered in more depth in the guide to Punjabi negation, but the short version for imperatives: ਨਾ (nā) is the negation word for commands, placed directly before the verb.

ਨਾ ਕਰੋ। Nā karo. "Don't do it." (formal/plural)

ਇੱਥੇ ਨਾ ਆ। Itthe nā ā. "Don't come here." (intimate)

ਨਹੀਂ (nahīṃ) is technically the all-purpose negator for statements of fact, not commands, but it shows up in a more emphatic, almost exasperated register when someone repeats a prohibition they've already given once: ਨਹੀਂ, ਨਾ ਕਰ! (nahīṃ, nā kar!, "No, don't do that!"), stacking the flat refusal nahīṃ in front of the actual command negator nā for extra force. You'll hear this from an exasperated parent far more than you'll see it in a textbook, which is exactly why it's worth knowing.

A few more negative commands you'll actually need:

ਚਿੰਤਾ ਨਾ ਕਰ। Chintā nā kar. "Don't worry." (intimate)

ਦੇਰ ਨਾ ਕਰੋ। Der nā karo. "Don't be late." (formal)

Everyday Imperatives You'll Actually Reach For

Beyond the grammar pattern, here are the specific commands that come up constantly in daily life, whether you're talking to a sibling or a shopkeeper.

English	Tū (intimate)	Tusī (formal/plural)
Sit	ਬੈਠ (baiṭh)	ਬੈਠੋ (baiṭho)
Listen	ਸੁਣ (suṇ)	ਸੁਣੋ (suṇo)
Wait	ਰੁਕ (ruk)	ਰੁਕੋ (ruko)
Come here	ਇੱਥੇ ਆ (itthe ā)	ਇੱਥੇ ਆਓ (itthe āo)
Tell me	ਦੱਸ (dass)	ਦੱਸੋ (dasso)
Go	ਜਾ (jā)	ਜਾਓ (jāo)
Eat	ਖਾ (khā)	ਖਾਓ (khāo)
Look	ਦੇਖ (dekh)	ਦੇਖੋ (dekho)

ਜ਼ਰਾ ਰੁਕੋ ਜੀ, ਮੈਂ ਆਉਂਦਾ ਹਾਂ। Zarā ruko jī, maiṃ āundā hāṃ. "Please wait a moment, I'm coming."

That single sentence packs three things this post has covered: the zarā softener, the jī honorific, and the formal -o ending, all doing quiet social work around a two-word request.

A handful of these deserve extra attention because they show up constantly but bend the basic stem-plus-ending rule slightly. ਦੱਸ/ਦੱਸੋ (dass/dasso, "tell me") is one of the most common imperatives in spoken Punjabi, used far more often than its literal translation suggests, closer to "go on, what is it?" than a formal request for information. ਇੱਥੇ ਆ/ਆਓ (itthe ā/āo) is technically two words (the location word itthe, "here," plus the verb) but functions as a single fixed phrase, the Punjabi equivalent of "come here" as opposed to just "come." You'll hear parents call it across a courtyard and shopkeepers use the formal version to wave over a hesitant customer.

Word order matters less than in English for these short commands. ਇੱਥੇ ਆ and, less commonly, ਆ ਇੱਥੇ are both understood, though the first is far more natural. As your sentences get longer than two or three words, though, Punjabi's default subject-object-verb order reasserts itself, and the imperative verb wants to sit at or near the end.

Cultural Note: When Bare Commands Are Normal, and When They're Not

Here's where a lot of learners overcorrect. Once you understand that a bare tū imperative can sound blunt, the instinct is to add jī and zarā to every sentence, even at home with a sibling. That's its own kind of mistake: it reads as strangely formal, even a little cold, the way constantly saying "if you wouldn't mind, would you please" to your own brother would sound off in English.

Inside the family and among close friends, bare commands are the norm, not the exception. A mother telling her son ਖਾ (khā, "eat") isn't being rude, she's being direct in exactly the register that signals closeness. Punjabi culture, especially in Punjab itself and in tight-knit diaspora households, runs warmer and more direct than a lot of English-speaking learners expect walking in. Softeners are for distance and unfamiliarity, not for love.

The formal register earns its keep in specific places: with in-laws, with elders outside your immediate family, with strangers, in a gurdwara, in any service interaction where you're asking a stranger for something. A useful test: if you'd use tusī to describe someone (per the pronouns post), you use the formal imperative with them too. The two systems move together, because they're really the same system.

What surprises a lot of English speakers is how little apology surrounds a direct command in the right context. English speakers tend to wrap requests in hedges: "Would it be possible for you to maybe pass the salt?" A Punjabi speaker in the same intimate setting just says ਲੂਣ ਦੇ (lūṇ de, "give the salt"), and nobody at that table hears it as short or demanding. Import English-style hedging wholesale into Punjabi and you risk sounding like you're keeping your own family at arm's length. The directness is not rudeness. It's a different default setting for where warmth lives in the sentence.

Building the Instinct

Imperatives are one of the first things you'll produce in real Punjabi conversation, well before you're ready for the ergative past tense or the full tense paradigm covered in the Punjabi verb tenses guide. That's actually an advantage. Commands are short, they're high-frequency, and the tū/tusī choice forces you to think about your relationship to the listener every single time you use one, which is exactly the habit that makes the rest of Punjabi's formality system click faster.

Start by defaulting to the formal forms with anyone outside your immediate circle, the same advice that applies to pronouns generally. You'll rarely offend by being too polite, and once a relationship shifts toward tū, the imperative endings will follow naturally, usually without you consciously deciding to switch. The Brightwood Apps Learn Punjabi app drills both imperative registers side by side in its early units, with native audio for commands like baiṭho and zarā suṇo so you hear the tone of a polite request before you ever have to produce one yourself.