ja جا

Algerian Darja · verb

“ja” (جا) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to come, to arrive.

Meanings

1. to come, to arrive
2. to fit, to suit

Usage

Ja is the base form, third person masculine past ("he came"). Present: yji. Imperative: aji (come). In the past, one says jit for "I came" and jat for "she came". It is used with men (to come from): ja men el khedma (he came back from work). With a preposition, it means "to go" or "to suit": ja 3lih (it suits him), jak mlih (it looks good on you). One also says ja f'balo (it crossed his mind).

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ja” but also “jaa”, “dja” and “jé”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Type “ja” on the Arabic keyboard

In Tunisian Derja

The same word also exists in Tunisian Derja, written جى, where it means “to come, arrive”; “to have come (time, season)”: ja in Tunisian.