كَتَبَ (kataba) means to write. It is a sound Form I verb from the root ك ت ب (k-t-b): كَتَبَ (kataba) in the past, يَكْتُبُ (yaktubu) in the present and اُكْتُبْ (uktub) 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 kataba on this page comes from the engine behind our Arabic verb conjugator and was checked against Wiktionary's conjugation table for كَتَبَ, which is also the source of its verbal nouns.
Kataba at a glance
| Root | ك ت ب (k-t-b), starting with the letter kāf; the root k-t-b in the Quran |
| Form | Form I, pattern فَعَلَ (faʿala) |
| Verb type | sound |
| Past, he | كَتَبَ (kataba) |
| Present, he | يَكْتُبُ (yaktubu) |
| Command, you (one man) | اُكْتُبْ (uktub) |
| Active participle | كَاتِب (kātib) |
| Passive participle | مَكْتُوب (maktūb) |
| Verbal noun (maṣdar) | كِتَابَة (kitāba), كَتْب (katb), كِتَاب (kitāb) |
Past tense of kataba
The past tense (al-māḍī) of kataba is one stem, katab-, plus a suffix that carries the person: كَتَبْتُ (katabtu) for I, كَتَبَتْ (katabat) for she, كَتَبُوا (katabū) for they.
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | كَتَبْتُ | katabtu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | كَتَبْنَا | katabnā |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | كَتَبْتَ | katabta |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | كَتَبْتِ | katabti |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | كَتَبْتُمَا | katabtumā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | كَتَبْتُمْ | katabtum |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | كَتَبْتُنَّ | katabtunna |
| he · هو huwa | كَتَبَ | kataba |
| she · هي hiya | كَتَبَتْ | katabat |
| they two m. · هما humā | كَتَبَا | katabā |
| they two f. · هما humā | كَتَبَتَا | katabatā |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | كَتَبُوا | katabū |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | كَتَبْنَ | katabna |
Present tense of kataba
The present tense (al-muḍāriʿ) of kataba has u in the stem, -ktub-, which no rule predicts: أَكْتُبُ (aktubu) for I, يَكْتُبُ (yaktubu) for he, يَكْتُبُونَ (yaktubūna) for they.
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَكْتُبُ | aktubu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَكْتُبُ | naktubu |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَكْتُبُ | taktubu |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَكْتُبِينَ | taktubīna |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَكْتُبَانِ | taktubāni |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَكْتُبُونَ | taktubūna |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَكْتُبْنَ | taktubna |
| he · هو huwa | يَكْتُبُ | yaktubu |
| she · هي hiya | تَكْتُبُ | taktubu |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَكْتُبَانِ | yaktubāni |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَكْتُبَانِ | taktubāni |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَكْتُبُونَ | yaktubūna |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَكْتُبْنَ | yaktubna |
Subjunctive and jussive of kataba
The subjunctive and the jussive of kataba change only the ending of the present: يَكْتُبُ (yaktubu) becomes يَكْتُبَ (yaktuba) after لن (lan, will not) and يَكْتُبْ (yaktub) after لم (lam, did not).
| Person | Subjunctive | Jussive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أَكْتُبَ (aktuba) | أَكْتُبْ (aktub) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نَكْتُبَ (naktuba) | نَكْتُبْ (naktub) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تَكْتُبَ (taktuba) | تَكْتُبْ (taktub) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تَكْتُبِي (taktubī) | تَكْتُبِي (taktubī) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تَكْتُبَا (taktubā) | تَكْتُبَا (taktubā) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تَكْتُبُوا (taktubū) | تَكْتُبُوا (taktubū) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تَكْتُبْنَ (taktubna) | تَكْتُبْنَ (taktubna) |
| he · هو huwa | يَكْتُبَ (yaktuba) | يَكْتُبْ (yaktub) |
| she · هي hiya | تَكْتُبَ (taktuba) | تَكْتُبْ (taktub) |
| they two m. · هما humā | يَكْتُبَا (yaktubā) | يَكْتُبَا (yaktubā) |
| they two f. · هما humā | تَكْتُبَا (taktubā) | تَكْتُبَا (taktubā) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يَكْتُبُوا (yaktubū) | يَكْتُبُوا (yaktubū) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يَكْتُبْنَ (yaktubna) | يَكْتُبْنَ (yaktubna) |
Imperative of kataba
The command (al-amr) is the jussive تَكْتُبْ (taktub) without its prefix, with a connecting alif (hamzat al-waṣl) in front that is pronounced only when the command starts a sentence: اُكْتُبْ (uktub) to one man, اُكْتُبِي (uktubī) to one woman, اُكْتُبُوا (uktubū) to a group.
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | اُكْتُبْ | uktub |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | اُكْتُبِي | uktubī |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | اُكْتُبَا | uktubā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | اُكْتُبُوا | uktubū |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | اُكْتُبْنَ | uktubna |
Passive of kataba
The passive of kataba keeps the consonants and changes the vowels: u and i in the past (كُتِبَ (kutiba)), the prefix yu- and a before the last root letter in the present (يُكْتَبُ (yuktabu)).
| Person | Past passive | Present passive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | كُتِبْتُ (kutibtu) | أُكْتَبُ (uktabu) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | كُتِبْنَا (kutibnā) | نُكْتَبُ (nuktabu) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | كُتِبْتَ (kutibta) | تُكْتَبُ (tuktabu) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | كُتِبْتِ (kutibti) | تُكْتَبِينَ (tuktabīna) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | كُتِبْتُمَا (kutibtumā) | تُكْتَبَانِ (tuktabāni) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | كُتِبْتُمْ (kutibtum) | تُكْتَبُونَ (tuktabūna) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | كُتِبْتُنَّ (kutibtunna) | تُكْتَبْنَ (tuktabna) |
| he · هو huwa | كُتِبَ (kutiba) | يُكْتَبُ (yuktabu) |
| she · هي hiya | كُتِبَتْ (kutibat) | تُكْتَبُ (tuktabu) |
| they two m. · هما humā | كُتِبَا (kutibā) | يُكْتَبَانِ (yuktabāni) |
| they two f. · هما humā | كُتِبَتَا (kutibatā) | تُكْتَبَانِ (tuktabāni) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | كُتِبُوا (kutibū) | يُكْتَبُونَ (yuktabūna) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | كُتِبْنَ (kutibna) | يُكْتَبْنَ (yuktabna) |
Participles and verbal noun of kataba
The active participle follows the pattern fāʿil: كَاتِب (kātib). The passive participle follows mafʿūl: مَكْتُوب (maktūb). Form I verbal nouns follow no single pattern, and Wiktionary lists three for kataba: كِتَابَة (kitāba), كَتْب (katb), كِتَاب (kitāb). Learn them with the verb, or look them up under k-t-b in one of the dictionaries in our guide.
Why kataba conjugates this way
The root letters of كَتَبَ (kataba), ك ت ب (k-t-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 u in the present, which no rule predicts. Shakara (to thank) and naẓara (to look) share its vowels, a in the past and u in the present.
Kataba in sentences
كتبت رواية.
I wrote a novel.
The verb: كَتَبْتُ (katabtu), past, I. Source: Tatoeba sentence 11855064 by dididodo (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
ماذا يكتب؟
What's he writing?
The verb: يَكْتُبُ (yaktubu), present, he. Source: Tatoeba sentence 12843153 by dididodo (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
Frequently asked questions
What is the present tense of kataba?
The present tense of كَتَبَ (kataba) is يَكْتُبُ (yaktubu) for he, أَكْتُبُ (aktubu) for I and تَكْتُبُ (taktubu) for you (one man). Its stem vowel, u, has to be learned with the verb.
What is the maṣdar (verbal noun) of kataba?
كِتَابَة (kitāba), كَتْب (katb), كِتَاب (kitāb), from Wiktionary: Form I verbal nouns have no fixed pattern. The active participle is كَاتِب (kātib), and the passive participle مَكْتُوب (maktūb).
Is kataba a regular verb?
Yes. Its root letters are all strong, so nothing changes shape; only its stem vowels, a in the past and u in the present, have to be learned with it.