اِحْتَاجَ (iḥtāja) means to need. It is a hollow Form VIII verb from the root ح و ج (ḥ-w-j): اِحْتَاجَ (iḥtāja) in the past, يَحْتَاجُ (yaḥtāju) in the present and اِحْتَجْ (iḥtaj) as a command. The tables below give its full conjugation in all 13 persons, active and passive, vowelled, with its participles and verbal noun.
Every form of iḥtāja on this page comes from the engine behind our Arabic verb conjugator and was checked against Wiktionary's conjugation table for اِحْتَاجَ, down to the regular Form VIII verbal noun اِحْتِيَاج (iḥtiyāj).
Iḥtāja at a glance
| Root | ح و ج (ḥ-w-j), starting with the letter ḥāʾ |
| Form | Form VIII, pattern اِفْتَعَلَ (iftaʿala) |
| Verb type | hollow |
| Past, he | اِحْتَاجَ (iḥtāja) |
| Present, he | يَحْتَاجُ (yaḥtāju) |
| Command, you (one man) | اِحْتَجْ (iḥtaj) |
| Active participle | مُحْتَاج (muḥtāj) |
| Passive participle | مُحْتَاج (muḥtāj) |
| Verbal noun (maṣdar) | اِحْتِيَاج (iḥtiyāj) |
Past tense of iḥtāja
The past tense (al-māḍī) of iḥtāja has two stems: iḥtāj- before an ending that starts with a vowel (اِحْتَاجَ (iḥtāja), اِحْتَاجَتْ (iḥtājat)) and iḥtaj- before an ending that starts with a consonant (اِحْتَجْتُ (iḥtajtu), اِحْتَجْنَ (iḥtajna)).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | اِحْتَجْتُ | iḥtajtu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | اِحْتَجْنَا | iḥtajnā |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | اِحْتَجْتَ | iḥtajta |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | اِحْتَجْتِ | iḥtajti |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | اِحْتَجْتُمَا | iḥtajtumā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | اِحْتَجْتُمْ | iḥtajtum |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | اِحْتَجْتُنَّ | iḥtajtunna |
| he · هو huwa | اِحْتَاجَ | iḥtāja |
| she · هي hiya | اِحْتَاجَتْ | iḥtājat |
| they two m. · هما humā | اِحْتَاجَا | iḥtājā |
| they two f. · هما humā | اِحْتَاجَتَا | iḥtājatā |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | اِحْتَاجُوا | iḥtājū |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | اِحْتَجْنَ | iḥtajna |
Present tense of iḥtāja
The present tense (al-muḍāriʿ) of iḥtāja has a long vowel in the stem, -ḥtāj-, which turns short before the -na of the feminine plural: يَحْتَاجُ (yaḥtāju) but يَحْتَجْنَ (yaḥtajna).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَحْتَاجُ | aḥtāju |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَحْتَاجُ | naḥtāju |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَحْتَاجُ | taḥtāju |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَحْتَاجِينَ | taḥtājīna |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَحْتَاجَانِ | taḥtājāni |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَحْتَاجُونَ | taḥtājūna |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَحْتَجْنَ | taḥtajna |
| he · هو huwa | يَحْتَاجُ | yaḥtāju |
| she · هي hiya | تَحْتَاجُ | taḥtāju |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَحْتَاجَانِ | yaḥtājāni |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَحْتَاجَانِ | taḥtājāni |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَحْتَاجُونَ | yaḥtājūna |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَحْتَجْنَ | yaḥtajna |
Subjunctive and jussive of iḥtāja
In the jussive the long vowel of the stem shortens wherever no ending follows: after لم (lam, did not) the he-form is يَحْتَجْ (yaḥtaj), while the subjunctive after لن (lan, will not) keeps it, يَحْتَاجَ (yaḥtāja).
| Person | Subjunctive | Jussive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَحْتَاجَ (aḥtāja) | أَحْتَجْ (aḥtaj) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَحْتَاجَ (naḥtāja) | نَحْتَجْ (naḥtaj) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَحْتَاجَ (taḥtāja) | تَحْتَجْ (taḥtaj) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَحْتَاجِي (taḥtājī) | تَحْتَاجِي (taḥtājī) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَحْتَاجَا (taḥtājā) | تَحْتَاجَا (taḥtājā) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَحْتَاجُوا (taḥtājū) | تَحْتَاجُوا (taḥtājū) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَحْتَجْنَ (taḥtajna) | تَحْتَجْنَ (taḥtajna) |
| he · هو huwa | يَحْتَاجَ (yaḥtāja) | يَحْتَجْ (yaḥtaj) |
| she · هي hiya | تَحْتَاجَ (taḥtāja) | تَحْتَجْ (taḥtaj) |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَحْتَاجَا (yaḥtājā) | يَحْتَاجَا (yaḥtājā) |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَحْتَاجَا (taḥtājā) | تَحْتَاجَا (taḥtājā) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَحْتَاجُوا (yaḥtājū) | يَحْتَاجُوا (yaḥtājū) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَحْتَجْنَ (yaḥtajna) | يَحْتَجْنَ (yaḥtajna) |
Imperative of iḥtāja
The command of Form VIII drops the prefix of the jussive تَحْتَجْ (taḥtaj) and puts a connecting alif in front: اِحْتَجْ (iḥtaj) to one man, اِحْتَاجِي (iḥtājī) to one woman, اِحْتَاجُوا (iḥtājū) to a group.
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | اِحْتَجْ | iḥtaj |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | اِحْتَاجِي | iḥtājī |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | اِحْتَاجَا | iḥtājā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | اِحْتَاجُوا | iḥtājū |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | اِحْتَجْنَ | iḥtajna |
Passive of iḥtāja
In the passive the weak middle letter of iḥtāja turns into ī in the past (اُحْتِيجَ (uḥtīja)) and ā in the present (يُحْتَاجُ (yuḥtāju)).
| Person | Past passive | Present passive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | اُحْتِجْتُ (uḥtijtu) | أُحْتَاجُ (uḥtāju) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | اُحْتِجْنَا (uḥtijnā) | نُحْتَاجُ (nuḥtāju) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | اُحْتِجْتَ (uḥtijta) | تُحْتَاجُ (tuḥtāju) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | اُحْتِجْتِ (uḥtijti) | تُحْتَاجِينَ (tuḥtājīna) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | اُحْتِجْتُمَا (uḥtijtumā) | تُحْتَاجَانِ (tuḥtājāni) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | اُحْتِجْتُمْ (uḥtijtum) | تُحْتَاجُونَ (tuḥtājūna) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | اُحْتِجْتُنَّ (uḥtijtunna) | تُحْتَجْنَ (tuḥtajna) |
| he · هو huwa | اُحْتِيجَ (uḥtīja) | يُحْتَاجُ (yuḥtāju) |
| she · هي hiya | اُحْتِيجَتْ (uḥtījat) | تُحْتَاجُ (tuḥtāju) |
| they two m. · هما humā | اُحْتِيجَا (uḥtījā) | يُحْتَاجَانِ (yuḥtājāni) |
| they two f. · هما humā | اُحْتِيجَتَا (uḥtījatā) | تُحْتَاجَانِ (tuḥtājāni) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | اُحْتِيجُوا (uḥtījū) | يُحْتَاجُونَ (yuḥtājūna) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | اُحْتِجْنَ (uḥtijna) | يُحْتَجْنَ (yuḥtajna) |
Participles and verbal noun of iḥtāja
A Form VIII active participle is the present stem with mu- in place of the prefix: يَحْتَاجُ (yaḥtāju) gives مُحْتَاج (muḥtāj). The passive participle is spelled the same: مُحْتَاج (muḥtāj). The verbal noun (maṣdar) follows the Form VIII pattern iftiʿāl: اِحْتِيَاج (iḥtiyāj). The Arabic grammar books we recommend cover all ten patterns at more length.
Why iḥtāja conjugates this way
The middle root letter of اِحْتَاجَ (iḥtāja) is و (w), a weak letter, which is why grammars call it a hollow verb. That letter never appears as a consonant in Form VIII. Where the syllable stays open it becomes a long vowel (اِحْتَاجَ (iḥtāja), يَحْتَاجُ (yaḥtāju)); where a consonant ending closes it, the vowel is short (اِحْتَجْتُ (iḥtajtu), يَحْتَجْ (yaḥtaj)). So iḥtāja has two past stems, iḥtāj- and iḥtaj-.
Form VIII puts t after the first root letter (iftaʿala), the action turned inward. It starts with a connecting alif, and its present is يَحْتَاجُ (yaḥtāju). Intaẓara (to wait for) and intahā (to end) are built on the same Form VIII pattern.
Iḥtāja in sentences
ماذا تحتاج؟
What do you need?
The verb: تَحْتَاجُ (taḥtāju), present, you (m.sg.). Source: Tatoeba sentence 3668949 by Shereen (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
نحتاج لطبيب.
We need a doctor.
The verb: نَحْتَاجُ (naḥtāju), present, we. Source: Tatoeba sentence 11688061 by dididodo (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
Frequently asked questions
What is the present tense of iḥtāja?
The present tense of اِحْتَاجَ (iḥtāja) is يَحْتَاجُ (yaḥtāju) for he, أَحْتَاجُ (aḥtāju) for I and تَحْتَاجُ (taḥtāju) for you (one man). The long vowel in the stem shortens before the feminine plural -na, as in يَحْتَجْنَ (yaḥtajna).
What is the maṣdar (verbal noun) of iḥtāja?
اِحْتِيَاج (iḥtiyāj), on the Form VIII pattern iftiʿāl. The active participle is مُحْتَاج (muḥtāj), and the passive participle مُحْتَاج (muḥtāj).
Is iḥtāja a regular verb?
It is regular for a hollow verb: its middle root letter becomes a long vowel (اِحْتَاجَ (iḥtāja), يَحْتَاجُ (yaḥtāju)) or a short one before a consonant ending (اِحْتَجْتُ (iḥtajtu)).