ذَهَبَ (dhahaba) means to go. It is a sound Form I verb from the root ذ ه ب (dh-h-b): ذَهَبَ (dhahaba) in the past, يَذْهَبُ (yadhhabu) in the present and اِذْهَبْ (idhhab) as a command. The tables below give its full conjugation in all 13 persons and its impersonal passive, vowelled, with its participles and verbal noun.
Every form of dhahaba on this page comes from the engine behind our Arabic verb conjugator and was checked against Wiktionary's conjugation table for ذَهَبَ, which is also the source of its verbal nouns.
Dhahaba at a glance
| Root | ذ ه ب (dh-h-b), starting with the letter dhāl |
| Form | Form I, pattern فَعَلَ (faʿala) |
| Verb type | sound |
| Past, he | ذَهَبَ (dhahaba) |
| Present, he | يَذْهَبُ (yadhhabu) |
| Command, you (one man) | اِذْهَبْ (idhhab) |
| Active participle | ذَاهِب (dhāhib) |
| Passive participle | مَذْهُوب (madhhūb) |
| Verbal noun (maṣdar) | ذَهَاب (dhahāb), مَذْهَب (madhhab) |
Past tense of dhahaba
The past tense (al-māḍī) of dhahaba is one stem, dhahab-, plus a suffix that carries the person: ذَهَبْتُ (dhahabtu) for I, ذَهَبَتْ (dhahabat) for she, ذَهَبُوا (dhahabū) for they.
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | ذَهَبْتُ | dhahabtu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | ذَهَبْنَا | dhahabnā |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | ذَهَبْتَ | dhahabta |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | ذَهَبْتِ | dhahabti |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | ذَهَبْتُمَا | dhahabtumā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | ذَهَبْتُمْ | dhahabtum |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | ذَهَبْتُنَّ | dhahabtunna |
| he · هو huwa | ذَهَبَ | dhahaba |
| she · هي hiya | ذَهَبَتْ | dhahabat |
| they two m. · هما humā | ذَهَبَا | dhahabā |
| they two f. · هما humā | ذَهَبَتَا | dhahabatā |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | ذَهَبُوا | dhahabū |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | ذَهَبْنَ | dhahabna |
Present tense of dhahaba
The present tense (al-muḍāriʿ) of dhahaba has a in the stem, -dhhab-, which no rule predicts: أَذْهَبُ (adhhabu) for I, يَذْهَبُ (yadhhabu) for he, يَذْهَبُونَ (yadhhabūna) for they.
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَذْهَبُ | adhhabu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَذْهَبُ | nadhhabu |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَذْهَبُ | tadhhabu |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَذْهَبِينَ | tadhhabīna |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَذْهَبَانِ | tadhhabāni |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَذْهَبُونَ | tadhhabūna |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَذْهَبْنَ | tadhhabna |
| he · هو huwa | يَذْهَبُ | yadhhabu |
| she · هي hiya | تَذْهَبُ | tadhhabu |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَذْهَبَانِ | yadhhabāni |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَذْهَبَانِ | tadhhabāni |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَذْهَبُونَ | yadhhabūna |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَذْهَبْنَ | yadhhabna |
Subjunctive and jussive of dhahaba
The subjunctive and the jussive of dhahaba change only the ending of the present: يَذْهَبُ (yadhhabu) becomes يَذْهَبَ (yadhhaba) after لن (lan, will not) and يَذْهَبْ (yadhhab) after لم (lam, did not).
| Person | Subjunctive | Jussive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَذْهَبَ (adhhaba) | أَذْهَبْ (adhhab) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَذْهَبَ (nadhhaba) | نَذْهَبْ (nadhhab) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَذْهَبَ (tadhhaba) | تَذْهَبْ (tadhhab) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَذْهَبِي (tadhhabī) | تَذْهَبِي (tadhhabī) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَذْهَبَا (tadhhabā) | تَذْهَبَا (tadhhabā) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَذْهَبُوا (tadhhabū) | تَذْهَبُوا (tadhhabū) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَذْهَبْنَ (tadhhabna) | تَذْهَبْنَ (tadhhabna) |
| he · هو huwa | يَذْهَبَ (yadhhaba) | يَذْهَبْ (yadhhab) |
| she · هي hiya | تَذْهَبَ (tadhhaba) | تَذْهَبْ (tadhhab) |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَذْهَبَا (yadhhabā) | يَذْهَبَا (yadhhabā) |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَذْهَبَا (tadhhabā) | تَذْهَبَا (tadhhabā) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَذْهَبُوا (yadhhabū) | يَذْهَبُوا (yadhhabū) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَذْهَبْنَ (yadhhabna) | يَذْهَبْنَ (yadhhabna) |
Imperative of dhahaba
The command (al-amr) is the jussive تَذْهَبْ (tadhhab) without its prefix, with a connecting alif (hamzat al-waṣl) in front that is pronounced only when the command starts a sentence: اِذْهَبْ (idhhab) to one man, اِذْهَبِي (idhhabī) to one woman, اِذْهَبُوا (idhhabū) to a group.
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | اِذْهَبْ | idhhab |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | اِذْهَبِي | idhhabī |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | اِذْهَبَا | idhhabā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | اِذْهَبُوا | idhhabū |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | اِذْهَبْنَ | idhhabna |
Passive of dhahaba
The passive of dhahaba keeps the consonants and changes the vowels: u and i in the past (ذُهِبَ (dhuhiba)), the prefix yu- and a before the last root letter in the present (يُذْهَبُ (yudhhabu)). Wiktionary lists the passive of dhahaba as impersonal: only the he-form is used, without a subject of its own.
| Person | Past passive | Present passive |
|---|---|---|
| he · هو huwa | ذُهِبَ (dhuhiba) | يُذْهَبُ (yudhhabu) |
Participles and verbal noun of dhahaba
The active participle follows the pattern fāʿil: ذَاهِب (dhāhib). The passive participle follows mafʿūl: مَذْهُوب (madhhūb). Form I verbal nouns follow no single pattern, and Wiktionary lists two for dhahaba: ذَهَاب (dhahāb), مَذْهَب (madhhab). Learn them with the verb, or look them up under dh-h-b in one of the dictionaries in our guide.
Why dhahaba conjugates this way
The root letters of ذَهَبَ (dhahaba), ذ ه ب (dh-h-b), are all strong consonants, with no w, y or hamza and no letter repeated, so nothing in its conjugation changes shape. What has to be learned is the pair of stem vowels: a in the past and a in the present, which no rule predicts. Badaʾa (to begin) and saʾala (to ask) share its vowels, a in the past and a in the present.
Dhahaba in sentences
أين ذهب؟
Where did he go?
The verb: ذَهَبَ (dhahaba), past, he. Source: Tatoeba sentence 370665 by saeb (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
ذهبوا مبكرا.
They left early.
The verb: ذَهَبُوا (dhahabū), past, they (m.pl.). Source: Tatoeba sentence 11864015 by dididodo (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
Frequently asked questions
What is the present tense of dhahaba?
The present tense of ذَهَبَ (dhahaba) is يَذْهَبُ (yadhhabu) for he, أَذْهَبُ (adhhabu) for I and تَذْهَبُ (tadhhabu) for you (one man). Its stem vowel, a, has to be learned with the verb.
What is the maṣdar (verbal noun) of dhahaba?
ذَهَاب (dhahāb), مَذْهَب (madhhab), from Wiktionary: Form I verbal nouns have no fixed pattern. The active participle is ذَاهِب (dhāhib), and the passive participle مَذْهُوب (madhhūb).
Is dhahaba a regular verb?
Yes. Its root letters are all strong, so nothing changes shape; only its stem vowels, a in the past and a in the present, have to be learned with it.