نجح — succeed with في and academic-result uses | Arabic (Modern Standard) Grammar

نَجَحَ is the ordinary Modern Standard Arabic verb for “succeed,” and in academic contexts it also means “pass.” Its morphology is straightforward, but its government is not identical to English: Arabic normally marks the field, test, or attempted action with في, as in نجح في الامتحان and نجح في حل المشكلة. Learning that frame together with the verb prevents the most common transfer error.

Lookup card: نَجَحَ — يَنْجَحُ

The root is ن-ج-ح, and the verb is sound Form I. None of its radicals is weak or hamzated, so the stem remains stable throughout the paradigm described in the Form-I overview. The imperative exists and is natural in encouragement, although speakers often prefer a fuller wish such as أتمنى لك النجاح in formal correspondence.

Part	Verified form	Use
root and Form	ن-ج-ح، Form I	sound triliteral verb
perfect, 3 m.sg.	نَجَحَ	he/it succeeded; he passed
imperfect, 3 m.sg.	يَنْجَحُ	he/it succeeds; is passing
imperative, 2 m.sg.	اِنْجَحْ	succeed!; do well!
maṣdar	نَجَاحٌ	success
active participle	نَاجِحٌ	successful; passing
passive	not normally used	the core verb is intransitive

نجح المشروع رغم ضيق الوقت.

najaḥa l-mashrūʿu raghma ḍīqi l-waqt.

The project succeeded despite the limited time. (Formal neutral.)

ينجح هذا الأسلوب عندما تتوافر بيانات موثوقة.

yanjaḥu hādhā l-ʾuslūbu ʿindamā tatawāfaru bayānātun mawthūqa.

This approach works when reliable data are available. (Formal academic register.)

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Store نَجَحَ — يَنْجَحُ — نَجَاحًا as one lexical unit. The imperfect is يَنْجَحُ, not a guessed form built from the English meaning, and the maṣdar is نَجَاح, not a mechanically invented Form-I noun.

The core frame: نجح في + field or task

Use في + noun for the domain in which someone succeeds. The complement may name an examination, a project, negotiations, a profession, or a stage of a process. When the complement is an action, Arabic commonly uses في + maṣdar. English usually omits any preposition before an infinitive—“succeeded in persuading” is the closest parallel—but Arabic keeps في consistently.

نجحت مريم في الامتحان النهائي بامتياز.

najaḥat maryamu fī l-imtiḥāni n-nihāʾiyyi bi-mtiyāz.

Maryam passed the final examination with distinction. (Formal academic register.)

نجح الفريق في خفض استهلاك الطاقة بنسبة كبيرة.

najaḥa l-farīqu fī khafḍi stihlāki ṭ-ṭāqati binisbatin kabīra.

The team succeeded in substantially reducing energy consumption. (Formal.)

لم ننجح في إقناع الممولين بتغيير الجدول الزمني.

lam nanjaḥ fī ʾiqnāʿi l-mumawwilīna bitaghyīri l-jadwali z-zamaniyy.

We did not succeed in persuading the funders to change the timetable. (Formal.)

The same relation can be expressed with في أن + subjunctive verb, especially when the embedded action needs an explicit subject or when a finite clause is clearer than a dense noun phrase.

نجحت اللجنة في أن تتوصل إلى حل يقبله الطرفان.

najaḥati l-lajnatu fī ʾan tatawaṣṣala ʾilā ḥallin yaqbaluhu ṭ-ṭarafān.

The committee succeeded in reaching a solution acceptable to both parties. (Formal.)

With a co-referential subject, في + maṣdar is usually more compact: نجحت اللجنة في التوصل. في أن تتوصل is equally grammatical and can make the clause boundary easier to process. Do not omit في merely because English says “managed to”; Arabic also has تمكّن من for that meaning.

Academic results: “pass,” not simply “be successful”

In school and university reporting, نجح الطالب في الامتحان means that the student passed. If the examination is already understood, نجح الطالب can stand alone. The opposite result is most precisely رسب في الامتحان “failed the exam,” while فشل is broader and often evaluates an attempt or plan rather than recording an official grade.

نجح أربعة وعشرون طالبا، ورسب طالبان.

najaḥa ʾarbaʿatun wa-ʿishrūna ṭāliban, wa-rasaba ṭālibān.

Twenty-four students passed, and two students failed. (Formal results report.)

لن ينجح الطالب في المادة ما لم يسلم البحث النهائي.

lan yanjaḥa ṭ-ṭālibu fī l-māddati mā lam yusallimi l-baḥtha n-nihāʾiyy.

The student will not pass the course unless he submits the final paper. (Formal academic rule.)

The adjective ناجح may mean “successful” generally or “having passed” in an academic record. Context supplies the reading: مشروع ناجح is a successful project; طالب ناجح is a successful or passing student. It agrees as an adjective: طالبة ناجحة، طلاب ناجحون.

حصلت الطالبات الناجحات على شهاداتهن صباح اليوم.

ḥaṣalati ṭ-ṭālibātu n-nājiḥātu ʿalā shahādātihinna ṣabāḥa l-yawm.

The students who passed received their certificates this morning. (Formal.)

Ranked senses and common collocations

The meanings form one coherent chain: an agent reaches an intended result, an undertaking works, or a student reaches the required standard.

Rank	Frame	Natural meaning and register
1	نَجَحَ فِي مُهِمَّةٍ	succeed in a task (neutral/formal)
2	نَجَحَ فِي الِامْتِحَانِ	pass an examination (academic)
3	نَجَحَ الْمَشْرُوعُ	the project worked/succeeded (neutral/formal)
4	نَجَحَ نَجَاحًا بَاهِرًا	succeed brilliantly (formal/evaluative)
5	نَجَحَ بِامْتِيَازٍ	pass with distinction (academic)

نجحت المفاوضات بعد جولة استمرت خمس ساعات.

najaḥati l-mufāwaḍātu baʿda jawlatin istamarrat khamsa sāʿāt.

The negotiations succeeded after a round that lasted five hours. (Formal news register.)

نجحت الحملة نجاحا باهرا في أسبوعها الأول.

najaḥati l-ḥamlatu najāḥan bāhiran fī ʾusbūʿihā l-ʾawwal.

The campaign was a resounding success in its first week. (Formal.)

The causative أنجح is a different verb

Form IV أَنْجَحَ — يُنْجِحُ — إِنْجَاحًا means “make successful, bring to a successful outcome.” Its initial hamza is written hamzat al-qaṭʿ. This causative is useful, but it is not a transitive conjugation of Form I that can be substituted without a meaning change. نجح البرنامج says the program succeeded; أنجح التعاونُ البرنامجَ says cooperation made the program successful.

أسهم تعاون البلديات في إنجاح البرنامج.

ʾashama taʿāwunu l-baladiyyāti fī ʾinjāḥi l-barnāmaj.

Cooperation among the municipalities helped make the program successful. (Formal administrative register.)

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For academic results, ask whether you are recording an official outcome or describing a failed attempt. نجح / رسب في الامتحان is the precise pass/fail pair; نجح / فشل في المحاولة evaluates success in an attempt more broadly.

Common Mistakes

Omitting في before the domain

❌ نجح الطالب الامتحان النهائي.

Incorrect in standard MSA—نجح does not take the examination as a direct object.

✅ نجح الطالب في الامتحان النهائي.

najaḥa ṭ-ṭālibu fī l-imtiḥāni n-nihāʾiyy.

The student passed the final examination.

Confusing the Form-I command with Form IV

❌ أنجح في دراستك هذا العام.

Incorrect for the intended command ‘succeed’—written أ marks Form IV أنجح, not the Form-I imperative.

✅ انجح في دراستك هذا العام.

injaḥ fī dirāsatika hādhā l-ʿām.

Succeed in your studies this year. (Motivational instruction.)

Using a direct finite complement after نجح

❌ نجحت اللجنة أن تتوصل إلى اتفاق.

Nonstandard in the neutral frame intended here—retain في before أن, or use a maṣdar after في.

✅ نجحت اللجنة في أن تتوصل إلى اتفاق.

najaḥati l-lajnatu fī ʾan tatawaṣṣala ʾilā ttifāq.

The committee succeeded in reaching an agreement.

Confusing Form I with the causative

❌ أنجح المشروع رغم قلة الموارد.

Incorrect for ‘the project succeeded’—أنجح is transitive and means ‘made successful.’

✅ نجح المشروع رغم قلة الموارد.

najaḥa l-mashrūʿu raghma qillati l-mawārid.

The project succeeded despite limited resources.

Key Takeaways

نَجَحَ — يَنْجَحُ — نَجَاحًا is a sound, intransitive Form-I verb.
Use نجح في + noun/maṣdar or نجح في أن + subjunctive for the field or achieved action.
In academic reporting, نجح في الامتحان means “passed the exam”; رسب is its precise opposite.
ناجح means successful or passing and agrees like any adjective.
أَنْجَحَ is a separate Form-IV causative meaning “make successful.”

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