जाना (jaanaa)
verb
जाना (jaanaa) means 'to go' at its core, but two of its most important jobs are grammatical rather than lexical: it works as a completive/change-of-state vector verb attached to another verb's stem (V + जाना), and as the auxiliary that forms the passive voice (V + जाना). See also आना (aanaa, 'to come'), its natural pair.
Sense
1
:
to go (motion from here to there)
verb, intransitive
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You'll hear जाना (jaanaa) constantly in Delhi: ऑफ़िस जाना (ofis jaanaa, 'to go to the office'), घर जाना (ghar jaanaa, 'to go home'). It's the natural partner of आना (aanaa, 'to come'), the same way English contrasts 'come' and 'go'.
Common Mistakes: 1) Concrete destinations usually skip को: स्कूल जाना है (skool jaanaa hai, 'have to go to school'), not स्कूल को जाना है -- को sounds stilted here even though the noun is a destination. 2) Don't confuse with चलना (chalnaa), which means 'to walk/move' rather than 'to go somewhere' as a destination verb.
Sample Sentences:
मैं रोज़ ऑफ़िस जाता हूँ।
I go to the office every day.
(main roz ofis jaataa hoon।)
वह अभी घर जा रही है।
She is going home right now.
(vah abhii ghar jaa rahii hai।)
हम कल बाज़ार गए थे।
We went to the market yesterday.
(ham kal baazaar gae the।)
क्या तुम आज स्कूल जाओगे?
Will you go to school today?
(kyaa tum aaj skool jaaoge?)
ज़रा बाज़ार जाओ और सब्ज़ी ले आओ।
Just go to the market and bring some vegetables.
(zaraa baazaar jaao aur sabzii le aao।)
अगर मुझे छुट्टी मिलती तो मैं गाँव जाता।
If I got a holiday, I would go to the village.
(agar mujhe chhuttii miltii to main gaanv jaataa।)
हो सकता है वह दिल्ली जाए।
It's possible that he will go to Delhi.
(ho saktaa hai vah dillii jaae।)
कृपया समय पर सभा में जाइए।
Please go to the meeting on time.
(kripyaa samay par sabhaa men jaaie।)
पहले वह हर साल विदेश जाता था।
Earlier, he used to go abroad every year.
(pahle vah har saal videsh jaataa thaa।)
बच्चे स्कूल जा रहे थे जब बारिश शुरू हुई।
The children were going to school when it started raining.
(bachche skool jaa rahe the jab baarish shuroo huii।)
Sense
2
:
completive/change-of-state vector verb attached to another verb's stem (V + जाना)
verb Attaches to the stem of a main verb (V + जाना) to add a sense of completeness, suddenness, or a shift into a new state, rather than contributing its own literal 'go' meaning: हो जाना (ho jaanaa, 'to become'), सो जाना (so jaanaa, 'to fall asleep'), मर जाना (mar jaanaa, 'to die'), समझ जाना (samajh jaanaa, 'to suddenly get it'), चला जाना (chalaa jaanaa, 'to leave/depart'), गुज़र जाना (guzar jaanaa, 'to pass away/pass by').
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is the verb every learner needs to master compound verbs: सो जाना, मर जाना, समझ जाना, चला जाना all add a flavor of completeness or suddenness that the bare main verb alone doesn't carry. Think of जाना here as grammatical seasoning, not literal movement -- it's one of the most-used building blocks in natural spoken Hindi.
Common Mistakes: 1) ने-marking exception: वह खाना खा गया (vah khaanaa khaa gayaa, 'he ate up the food') takes no ने even though खाना (khaanaa) alone is a transitive, ने-taking verb -- because जाना itself is intransitive, agreement in the compound follows जाना, not the main verb. 2) Don't read चला जाना (chalaa jaanaa) or गुज़र जाना (guzar jaanaa) as जाना carrying a 'depart/pass away' meaning on its own -- that sense lives in the specific compound, not in जाना by itself.
Sample Sentences:
बच्चा सो गया।
The child fell asleep.
(bachchaa so gayaa।)
मैं तुम्हारी बात समझ गया।
I understood what you meant.
(main tumhaarii baat samajh gayaa।)
बुड्ढा आदमी अचानक मर गया।
The old man suddenly died.
(buddhaa aadmii achaanak mar gayaa।)
वह बिना कुछ कहे चला गया।
He just walked off without saying anything.
(vah binaa kuchh kahe chalaa gayaa।)
जल्दी सो जाओ, कल स्कूल है।
Go to sleep quickly, there's school tomorrow.
(jaldii so jaao, kal skool hai।)
अगर तुम मुझे समय पर बता देते तो मैं समझ जाता।
If you had told me in time, I would have understood right away.
(agar tum mujhe samay par bataa dete to main samajh jaataa।)
डर के मारे उसका दिल बैठ जाता है।
Out of fear, his heart just sinks.
(dar ke maare uskaa dil baith jaataa hai।)
अगर बिजली चली गई तो सारा काम रुक जाएगा।
If the power goes out, all the work will just stop.
(agar bijlii chalii gaii to saaraa kaam ruk jaaegaa।)
मुमकिन है वह अपनी गलती मान जाए।
It's possible he might just admit his mistake.
(mumkin hai vah apnii galtii maan jaae।)
उम्मीद है कि वह जल्दी ठीक हो जाए।
I hope he gets well soon.
(ummiid hai ki vah jaldii thiik ho jaae।)
Sense
3
:
auxiliary forming the passive voice (V + जाना)
verb Combines with a main verb's perfective participle to build the passive: किया जाना (kiyaa jaanaa, 'to be done'), खाया जाना (khaayaa jaanaa, 'to be eaten'). The logical agent, if stated, is marked with से (se), not ने or को.
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: You meet this construction on signs and in slightly formal speech: यहाँ धूम्रपान नहीं किया जाता (yahaan dhoomrpaan nahiin kiyaa jaataa, 'smoking is not done here'). It's less common in casual chat than the active voice, but essential for reading notices, rules, and formal writing.
Common Mistakes: 1) The logical agent takes से, not ने: मुझसे यह काम नहीं किया गया (mujhse yah kaam nahiin kiyaa gayaa, 'this work couldn't be done by me') -- learners used to ने-marked agents in the simple past often reach for ने here by mistake. 2) This passive often reads as inability or involuntariness rather than a flat 'was done by': मुझसे चला नहीं जाता (mujhse chalaa nahiin jaataa, 'I'm not able to walk') describes incapacity, not just passive action.
Sample Sentences:
यहाँ धूम्रपान नहीं किया जाता।
Smoking is not done here.
(yahaan dhoomrpaan nahiin kiyaa jaataa।)
यह किताब हिंदी में लिखी गई है।
This book has been written in Hindi.
(yah kitaab hindii men likhii gaii hai।)
कल रात एक बड़ा फैसला लिया गया।
A big decision was taken last night.
(kal raat ek badaa phaislaa liyaa gayaa।)
यह काम कल तक पूरा कर लिया जाएगा।
This work will be completed by tomorrow.
(yah kaam kal tak pooraa kar liyaa jaaegaa।)
इस हॉल में खाना नहीं खाया जाना चाहिए।
Food should not be eaten in this hall.
(is hol men khaanaa nahiin khaayaa jaanaa chaahie।)
अगर नियम तोड़े जाते तो सज़ा दी जाती।
If the rules were broken, punishment would be given.
(agar niyam tode jaate to sazaa dii jaatii।)
इस मंदिर में जूते पहनकर अंदर नहीं जाया जाता।
One does not go inside this temple wearing shoes.
(is mandir men joote pahankar andar nahiin jaayaa jaataa।)
सारी फाइलें जांची जा रही हैं।
All the files are being checked.
(saarii phaailen jaanchii jaa rahii hain।)
क्या यह समस्या हल की जा सकती है?
Can this problem be solved?
(kyaa yah samasyaa hal kii jaa saktii hai?)
Morphology
Verb (irregular)
infinitive:
जाना
(jaanaa)
infinitive oblique:
जाने
(jaane)
habitual/simple (sg.m):
जाता
(jaataa)
habitual/simple (pl.m):
जाते
(jaate)
habitual/simple (sg.f):
जाती
(jaatii)
habitual/simple (pl.f):
जातीं
(jaatiin)
continuous (sg.m):
जा रहा
(jaa rahaa)
continuous (pl.m):
जा रहे
(jaa rahe)
continuous (sg.f):
जा रही
(jaa rahii)
continuous (pl.f):
जा रहीं
(jaa rahiin)
perfective (sg.m):
गया
(gayaa)
perfective (pl.m):
गए
(gae)
perfective (sg.f):
गई
(gaii)
perfective (pl.f):
गईं
(gaiin)
imperative (informal):
जा
(jaa)
imperative (neutral):
जाओ
(jaao)
imperative (formal):
जाइए
(jaaie)
future (1sg.m):
जाऊँगा
(jaaoongaa)
future (1sg.f):
जाऊँगी
(jaaoongii)
future (1pl.m):
जाएँगे
(jaaenge)
future (1pl.f):
जाएँगी
(jaaengii)
future (2sg.m):
जाएगा
(jaaegaa)
future (2sg.f):
जाएगी
(jaaegii)
future (2pl.m):
जाओगे
(jaaoge)
future (2pl.f):
जाओगी
(jaaogii)
future (3sg.m):
जाएगा
(jaaegaa)
future (3sg.f):
जाएगी
(jaaegii)
future (3pl.m):
जाएँगे
(jaaenge)
future (3pl.f):
जाएँगी
(jaaengii)
subjunctive (1sg):
जाऊँ
(jaaoon)
subjunctive (1pl):
जाएँ
(jaaen)
subjunctive (2sg):
जाए
(jaae)
subjunctive (2pl):
जाओ
(jaao)
subjunctive (3sg):
जाए
(jaae)
subjunctive (3pl):
जाएँ
(jaaen)