Arabic vocabulary
جَاءَcome
How to say “come” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
Example sentences
ويرسلها مع أنفاس الأسف حتى جاءه توقيع فتاب عليه
And he sent them with sighs of regret until a decree came to him, and He accepted his repentance.
جَاءَهُ — came to him. Past-tense verb 'came', 'he/it' form; the ending '-hu' adds 'him' — 'came to him'.
From: Adam's Descent →قال فما جاء بك؟
He said: What brings you here?
جَاءَ — it brings. Past-tense verb 'came, brought', 'he/it' form — here 'what brought…'.
From: Early Converts to Islam →قال جئت لهذا الأسير الذي في أيديكم
He said: I came for this prisoner who is in your hands.
جِئْتُ — I came. Past-tense verb 'came', 'I' form (the '-tu' = I).
From: Early Converts to Islam →قال اصدقني ما الذي جئت له؟
He said: Tell me honestly, what have you come for?
جِئْتَ — you have come. Past-tense verb 'came', 'you' form (the '-ta' = you) — 'you came'.
From: Early Converts to Islam →قال ما جئت إلا لذلك
He said: I have come only for that.
جِئْتُ — I have come. Past-tense verb 'came', 'I' form (the '-tu' = I) — here negated: 'I did not come'.
From: Early Converts to Islam →إِذْ جَاءَهُ لُقْمَان وَقد حمل حزمة على ظَهره
Then Luqman came to him, carrying a bundle on his back.
جَاءَهُ — came to him. Past-tense verb, subject 'he' built in; '-hu' = 'him' is the object.
From: Luqman's Response to Injustice →فَهَذَا التَّوْحِيد الَّذِي جَاءَت بِهِ الرُّسُل
This is the monotheism with which the messengers were sent.
جَاءَتْ — they came. Past-tense 'came', and the -at ending is a feminine agreement marker — it points to 'the messengers', which Arabic treats as a feminine-singular group. So the verb's shape tells you who acted.
From: Worship God Alone →لذلك جاء الذكرُ المشروعُ بصيغٍ تحملُ المعنى
Therefore, the prescribed remembrance comes in forms that carry meaning:
جَاءَ — it came. Past 'came', subject 'it' inside the verb. Here 'came in forms' is Arabic's idiom for 'was given, handed down in such-and-such shape'.
From: Words That Nourish the Heart →وَقَسم سِيبَوَيْهٍ الْكَلَام إِلَى اسْم وَفعل وحرف جَاءَ لِمَعْنى لَيْسَ باسم وَلَا فعل،
And Sibawayh divided speech into noun, verb, and a particle that conveys a meaning and is neither a noun nor a verb.
جَاءَ — that comes. Past 'came', subject 'it' inside, describing the particle — 'that comes [for a meaning]'.
From: Small Deeds, Great Reward →وكل من هَذِه الْأَقْسَام يُسمى حرفا لَكِن خَاصَّة الثَّالِث أَنه حرف جَاءَ لِمَعْنى لَيْسَ باسم
And each of these categories is called a particle, but the distinguishing feature of the third is that it is a particle that conveys a meaning and is not a noun.
جَاءَ — that comes. Past 'came', subject 'it' inside, describing the particle — 'that comes for a meaning'.
From: Small Deeds, Great Reward →لذلك جاء في القرآن ﴿فَمَنْ ثَقُلَتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ﴾، ولم يقل من رجحت سيئاته؛ لأن السيئات لا تُعطي صاحبها وزنًا محمودًا، بل تُسقطه
Therefore, it is mentioned in the Quran: 'So those whose scales are heavy, they are the successful ones,' and it does not say: 'whose bad deeds outweigh,' because bad deeds do not give their owner a praiseworthy weight; rather, they bring him down.
جَاءَ — he came. Past 'came', subject 'it' inside — 'it came [in the Quran]', Arabic's idiom for 'it is stated, it occurs'.
From: Small Deeds, Great Reward →فجَاء الْبَرِيد بالْخبر من السَّمَاء
Then the messenger brought news from the heavens.
فَجَاءَ — then came. 'Fa-' (so / then) plus a past-tense verb 'came / arrived', its subject coming next. The 'fa-' threads the next event: then the messenger came.
From: The Night of the Migration →أصدق فِي الطّلب وَقد جاءتك المعونة
Be sincere in seeking, and assistance will come to you.
جَاءَتْكَ — has come to you. A past-tense verb 'came' with the feminine '-at' tail (agreeing with 'help') and '-ka' (you) attached as object — 'has come to you'. The suffix marks you as the one it reaches.
From: The Path to God's Love →فإن هذا العلم في شق وما جاءت به الرسل في شق،
For this knowledge lies in one direction, and what the messengers brought lies in another.
جَاءَتْ — they brought. 'came / brought,' feminine — agreeing with the plural 'messengers,' which can take a feminine singular verb. It takes 'with it' next — Arabic 'comes WITH' a thing to mean 'brings' it. 'What the messengers brought.'
From: Revelation Over Philosophy →ولكن ضلال من لم يدر ما جاءت به الرسل كما ينبغي بالحكمة شر ممن يدري،
But the misguidance of one who does not know what the messengers brought, as he should through wisdom, is worse than that of one who knows.
جَاءَتْ — they brought. The verb is feminine singular even though its doer, 'the messengers', is plural. That is a fixed rule of Arabic: a plural of non-human things — and here a plural treated as a collective — takes a feminine-singular verb. So the '-at' ending is grammatical agreement, not a sign that one woman acted.
From: Revelation Over Philosophy →فقالت ملائكة الرحمة جاء تائبا مقبلا بقلبه إلى الله تعالى،
The Angels of Mercy said, 'He came repenting, turning with his heart to Allah, the Almighty.'
جَاءَ — He came. A past verb 'came', subject 'he' inside — the man. Their plea opens by stating how he came: as a penitent. The participle that follows describes his state. The doer is sealed in the verb.
From: Righteous Company →والذي نفس محمد بيده ما من كلم يكلم في سبيل الله إلا جاء يوم القيامة كهيئته يوم كلم،
By the One in whose hand is Muhammad's soul, there is no wound inflicted in the Cause of Allah except that it will come on the Day of Resurrection in the same state it was when it was inflicted,
جَاءَ — it will come. A past-tense verb, 'it came', with the subject built in, but here it carries a future sense as the certain consequence in the 'except' clause, 'it will come'. Arabic can use the past shape for an assured future outcome; the doer is inside the form.
From: Paradise for Those Who Strive →وقال أبو إسحاق الرجع المطر لأنه يجيء ويرجع ويتكرر
Abu Ishaq said: The returning is the rain because it comes and returns repeatedly.
يَجِيءُ — it comes. A present-tense verb 'it comes' with the doer 'it' built in, the rain. The present form frames the coming as a repeated, characteristic action.
From: Oaths of Provision →والخير كله من قبل السماء يجي لما كان أظهر الخير المشهود بالعيان المطر
And all good comes from the sky because evident good is primarily the rain.
يَجِيءُ — it comes. A present-tense verb 'it comes' with the doer 'it' built in. The present form frames the coming of the good as a general, ongoing truth.
From: Oaths of Provision →وقال أبو إسحاق الرجع المطر لأنه يجيء ويرجع ويتكرر
Abu Ishaq said that 'returning' is rain because it comes and returns and repeats.
يَجِيءُ — it comes. A present-tense verb 'it comes' with the doer 'it' built in, the rain. The present frames the coming as a repeated, characteristic action.
From: Signs of Resurrection →والخير كله من قبل السماء يجي لما كان أظهر الخير المشهود بالعيان المطر فسر الرجع به ومقابلته بصدع الأرض عن النبات
And all good comes from the sky, and since the most evident visible blessing is rain, the 'return' is interpreted as such, contrasted with the earth's splitting for plant growth.
يَجِيءُ — it comes. A present-tense verb 'it comes' with the doer 'it' built in, the good. The present form frames the coming as a general, ongoing truth.
From: Signs of Resurrection →وأن ما جاء به هو من عند الله
And that what he brought is from Allah.
جَاءَ — he brought. Past-tense 'he brought/came with', subject 'he' built in, inside the relative clause defining 'what he brought'. The verb carries the doer internally.
From: Proof in All Creation →فلما نزل سألوه من أين جئت بهذا؟
When he came down, they asked him: Where did you get this?
جِئْتَ — did you get. Past-tense 'you came, you brought', addressed to a single male, the 'you' subject built into the verb's ending. The masculine-singular addressee is marked by that ending. It is the verb of the question, asking what he turned up with.
From: Justice in the Field →فجاءه أعرابي يشكو جاره،
A Bedouin came to him complaining about his neighbor,
فَجَاءَهُ — so came to him. This packs three pieces: the consequence marker 'so', the past verb 'came', and the attached 'him' as the goal of the coming. The verb's 'he' subject, the Bedouin, comes afterward. So one word carries 'so there came to him', with the connector moving the story forward.
From: Justice in the Field →
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