جَاءَ (jāʾa) means to come. It is a hollow and hamzated Form I verb from the root ج ي ء (j-y-ʾ): جَاءَ (jāʾa) in the past, يَجِيءُ (yajīʾu) in the present and جِئْ (jiʾ) 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 jāʾa on this page comes from the engine behind our Arabic verb conjugator and was checked against Wiktionary's conjugation table for جَاءَ, which is also the source of its verbal nouns.
Jāʾa at a glance
| Root | ج ي ء (j-y-ʾ), starting with the letter jīm; the root j-y-ʾ in the Quran |
| Form | Form I, pattern فَعَلَ (faʿala) |
| Verb type | hollow and hamzated |
| Past, he | جَاءَ (jāʾa) |
| Present, he | يَجِيءُ (yajīʾu) |
| Command, you (one man) | جِئْ (jiʾ) |
| Active participle | جَاءٍ (jāʾin) |
| Passive participle | مَجِيء (majīʾ) |
| Verbal noun (maṣdar) | مَجِيء (majīʾ), جَيْء (jayʾ), جَيْئَة (jayʾa), جِيئَة (jīʾa) |
Past tense of jāʾa
The past tense (al-māḍī) of jāʾa has two stems: jāʾ- before an ending that starts with a vowel (جَاءَ (jāʾa), جَاءَتْ (jāʾat)) and jiʾ- before an ending that starts with a consonant (جِئْتُ (jiʾtu), جِئْنَ (jiʾna)).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | جِئْتُ | jiʾtu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | جِئْنَا | jiʾnā |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | جِئْتَ | jiʾta |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | جِئْتِ | jiʾti |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | جِئْتُمَا | jiʾtumā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | جِئْتُمْ | jiʾtum |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | جِئْتُنَّ | jiʾtunna |
| he · هو huwa | جَاءَ | jāʾa |
| she · هي hiya | جَاءَتْ | jāʾat |
| they two m. · هما humā | جَاءَا | jāʾā |
| they two f. · هما humā | جَاءَتَا | jāʾatā |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | جَائُوا or جَاؤُوا | jāʾū or jāʾū |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | جِئْنَ | jiʾna |
Present tense of jāʾa
The present tense (al-muḍāriʿ) of jāʾa has a long vowel in the stem, -jīʾ-, which turns short before the -na of the feminine plural: يَجِيءُ (yajīʾu) but يَجِئْنَ (yajiʾna).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَجِيءُ | ajīʾu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَجِيءُ | najīʾu |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَجِيءُ | tajīʾu |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَجِيئِينَ | tajīʾīna |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَجِيئَانِ | tajīʾāni |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَجِيئُونَ or تَجِيؤُونَ | tajīʾūna or tajīʾūna |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَجِئْنَ | tajiʾna |
| he · هو huwa | يَجِيءُ | yajīʾu |
| she · هي hiya | تَجِيءُ | tajīʾu |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَجِيئَانِ | yajīʾāni |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَجِيئَانِ | tajīʾāni |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَجِيئُونَ or يَجِيؤُونَ | yajīʾūna or yajīʾūna |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَجِئْنَ | yajiʾna |
Subjunctive and jussive of jāʾa
In the jussive the long vowel of the stem shortens wherever no ending follows: after لم (lam, did not) the he-form is يَجِئْ (yajiʾ), while the subjunctive after لن (lan, will not) keeps it, يَجِيءَ (yajīʾa).
| Person | Subjunctive | Jussive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَجِيءَ (ajīʾa) | أَجِئْ (ajiʾ) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَجِيءَ (najīʾa) | نَجِئْ (najiʾ) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَجِيءَ (tajīʾa) | تَجِئْ (tajiʾ) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَجِيئِي (tajīʾī) | تَجِيئِي (tajīʾī) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَجِيئَا (tajīʾā) | تَجِيئَا (tajīʾā) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَجِيئُوا (tajīʾū) or تَجِيؤُوا (tajīʾū) | تَجِيئُوا (tajīʾū) or تَجِيؤُوا (tajīʾū) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَجِئْنَ (tajiʾna) | تَجِئْنَ (tajiʾna) |
| he · هو huwa | يَجِيءَ (yajīʾa) | يَجِئْ (yajiʾ) |
| she · هي hiya | تَجِيءَ (tajīʾa) | تَجِئْ (tajiʾ) |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَجِيئَا (yajīʾā) | يَجِيئَا (yajīʾā) |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَجِيئَا (tajīʾā) | تَجِيئَا (tajīʾā) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَجِيئُوا (yajīʾū) or يَجِيؤُوا (yajīʾū) | يَجِيئُوا (yajīʾū) or يَجِيؤُوا (yajīʾū) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَجِئْنَ (yajiʾna) | يَجِئْنَ (yajiʾna) |
Imperative of jāʾa
Take the prefix off the jussive تَجِئْ (tajiʾ) and the command is جِئْ (jiʾ): no alif is needed, because the first root letter now has a vowel. The long vowel comes back when an ending follows: جِيئِي (jīʾī), جِيئُوا (jīʾū).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | جِئْ | jiʾ |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | جِيئِي | jīʾī |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | جِيئَا | jīʾā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | جِيئُوا or جِيؤُوا | jīʾū or jīʾū |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | جِئْنَ | jiʾna |
Passive of jāʾa
In the passive the weak middle letter of jāʾa turns into ī in the past (جِيءَ (jīʾa)) and ā in the present (يُجَاءُ (yujāʾu)).
| Person | Past passive | Present passive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | جِئْتُ (jiʾtu) | أُجَاءُ (ujāʾu) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | جِئْنَا (jiʾnā) | نُجَاءُ (nujāʾu) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | جِئْتَ (jiʾta) | تُجَاءُ (tujāʾu) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | جِئْتِ (jiʾti) | تُجَائِينَ (tujāʾīna) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | جِئْتُمَا (jiʾtumā) | تُجَاءَانِ (tujāʾāni) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | جِئْتُمْ (jiʾtum) | تُجَائُونَ (tujāʾūna) or تُجَاؤُونَ (tujāʾūna) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | جِئْتُنَّ (jiʾtunna) | تُجَأْنَ (tujaʾna) |
| he · هو huwa | جِيءَ (jīʾa) | يُجَاءُ (yujāʾu) |
| she · هي hiya | جِيئَتْ (jīʾat) | تُجَاءُ (tujāʾu) |
| they two m. · هما humā | جِيئَا (jīʾā) | يُجَاءَانِ (yujāʾāni) |
| they two f. · هما humā | جِيئَتَا (jīʾatā) | تُجَاءَانِ (tujāʾāni) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | جِيئُوا (jīʾū) or جِيؤُوا (jīʾū) | يُجَائُونَ (yujāʾūna) or يُجَاؤُونَ (yujāʾūna) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | جِئْنَ (jiʾna) | يُجَأْنَ (yujaʾna) |
Participles and verbal noun of jāʾa
In the active participle a hamza takes the place of the weak middle letter: جَاءٍ (jāʾin). The passive participle keeps only the long vowel of the weak letter: مَجِيء (majīʾ). Form I verbal nouns follow no single pattern, and Wiktionary lists four for jāʾa: مَجِيء (majīʾ), جَيْء (jayʾ), جَيْئَة (jayʾa), جِيئَة (jīʾa). Learn them with the verb, or look them up under j-y-ʾ in one of the dictionaries in our guide.
Why jāʾa conjugates this way
The middle root letter of جَاءَ (jāʾa) is ي (y), a weak letter, which is why grammars call it a hollow verb. That letter never appears as a consonant in Form I. Where the syllable stays open it becomes a long vowel (جَاءَ (jāʾa), يَجِيءُ (yajīʾu)); where a consonant ending closes it, the vowel is short (جِئْتُ (jiʾtu), يَجِئْ (yajiʾ)). So jāʾa has two past stems, jāʾ- and jiʾ-.
The last root letter of جَاءَ (jāʾa) is a hamza as well. After the long vowel of the stem it is written on its own, on the line: جَاءَ (jāʾa), يَجِيءُ (yajīʾu). Kāna (to be) and qāla (to say) are hollow too, and change in the same places.
Jāʾa in sentences
جئت بالقطار.
I came by train.
The verb: جِئْتُ (jiʾtu), past, I. Source: Tatoeba sentence 13167176 by atitarev (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
جاءت أمي.
My mother came.
The verb: جَاءَتْ (jāʾat), past, she. Source: Tatoeba sentence 11669213 by dididodo (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
Frequently asked questions
What is the present tense of jāʾa?
The present tense of جَاءَ (jāʾa) is يَجِيءُ (yajīʾu) for he, أَجِيءُ (ajīʾu) for I and تَجِيءُ (tajīʾu) for you (one man). The long vowel in the stem shortens before the feminine plural -na, as in يَجِئْنَ (yajiʾna).
What is the maṣdar (verbal noun) of jāʾa?
مَجِيء (majīʾ), جَيْء (jayʾ), جَيْئَة (jayʾa), جِيئَة (jīʾa), from Wiktionary: Form I verbal nouns have no fixed pattern. The active participle is جَاءٍ (jāʾin), and the passive participle مَجِيء (majīʾ).
Is jāʾa a regular verb?
It is regular for a hollow verb: its middle root letter becomes a long vowel (جَاءَ (jāʾa), يَجِيءُ (yajīʾu)) or a short one before a consonant ending (جِئْتُ (jiʾtu)).