जाना is the basic intransitive motion verb “go,” with stem जा- and the suppletive perfective गया. It also serves in passive predicates and as a vector contributing completion, change, or separation. These functions share forms but not argument structure, so learning जाना requires more than memorizing “go.”
Principal parts and destinations
| Category | Form | Illustration |
|---|---|---|
| stem | जा- | घर जा- |
| infinitive | जाना | घर जाना |
| habitual | जाता / जाती / जाते | वह जाती है |
| perfective | गया / गई / गए / गईं | वे गए |
| conjunctive | जाकर | वहाँ जाकर |
Common destinations are often bare: घर जाना, स्कूल जाना, दिल्ली जाना. More elaborated goals use a postposition: डॉक्टर के पास जाना, कमरे में जाना, छत पर जाना. Hindi does not require a direct equivalent of English to before every destination.
तनु रोज़ मेट्रो से कॉलेज जाती है।
tanu roz meṭro se kolej jātī hai.
Tanu goes to college by metro every day.
हम छुट्टियों में नानी के पास जाते हैं।
ham chuṭṭiyoṃ meṃ nānī ke pās jāte haiṃ.
We go to our maternal grandmother's place during the holidays.
Habitual and progressive
| Subject | Habitual present | Progressive present |
|---|---|---|
| मैं, masculine | जाता हूँ | जा रहा हूँ |
| मैं, feminine | जाती हूँ | जा रही हूँ |
| वह, masculine | जाता है | जा रहा है |
| वह, feminine | जाती है | जा रही है |
| हम / आप / वे, masculine or mixed | जाते हैं | जा रहे हैं |
| हम / वे, all feminine | जाती हैं | जा रही हैं |
मैं अभी बाज़ार जा रही हूँ; कुछ चाहिए?
maĩ abhī bāzār jā rahī hū̃; kuch cāhie?
I'm going to the market now; do you need anything? (female speaker)
Habitual जाना describes a routine or disposition; progressive जाना describes motion currently under way or an imminent arranged departure. The lexical stem जा-, progressive रही, and auxiliary हूँ form separate layers.
Suppletive perfective and no ने
The perfective is not जाया in the ordinary active motion sense. Use गया, गई, गए, गईं. Because lexical जाना is intransitive, its subject remains unmarked and controls agreement; it does not take ergative ने.
| Controller | Perfective | Example fragment |
|---|---|---|
| masculine singular | गया | मोहन गया |
| feminine singular | गई | नीता गई |
| masculine/mixed plural or honorific | गए | दादाजी गए |
| feminine plural | गईं | लड़कियाँ गईं |
मेरी बहन सुबह ही दफ़्तर गई।
merī bahan subah hī daftar gaī.
My sister went to the office early in the morning.
दादाजी थोड़ी देर पहले सोने गए हैं।
dādājī thoṛī der pahle sone gae haiṃ.
Grandfather went to sleep a short while ago. (respectful)
The second sentence uses honorific plural गए हैं for one respected person. Present perfect adds हैं to perfective गए.
Future and subjunctive
The future and subjunctive expand the vowel of the stem: जाऊँ, जाए, जाएँ.
| Person | Subjunctive | Future masculine | Future feminine |
|---|---|---|---|
| मैं | जाऊँ | जाऊँगा | जाऊँगी |
| तुम | जाओ | जाओगे | जाओगी |
| वह / यह | जाए | जाएगा | जाएगी |
| हम / आप / वे / ये | जाएँ | जाएँगे | जाएँगी |
बारिश रुकी तो हम पैदल जाएँगे।
bāriś rukī to ham paidal jāẽge.
If the rain stops, we'll go on foot.
ज़रूरी है कि वह आज ही जाए।
zarūrī hai ki vah āj hī jāe.
It is necessary that he or she leave today.
Imperatives and non-finite forms
The main imperative levels are intimate जा, familiar जाओ, and respectful जाइए. Negative commands use मत.
अभी मत जाओ; चाय तैयार है।
abhī mat jāo; cāy taiyār hai.
Don't go yet; the tea is ready. (familiar)
Common non-finite forms are जाता (habitual), गया (perfective), जाते हुए (while going), जाकर (having gone), जाने (oblique infinitive), and जाने वाला (about to go / one who goes).
वहाँ जाकर मुझे संदेश भेज देना।
vahā̃ jākar mujhe sandeś bhej denā.
Send me a message after you get there. (familiar reminder)
Passive auxiliary and vector uses
In the productive passive, a transitive verb's perfective stem plus जाना forms the passive predicate: लिखा जाना, भेजी जाना, किए जाना. जाना carries aspect and agreement with the passive subject.
सभी आवेदन ऑनलाइन जमा किए जाते हैं।
sabhī āvedan onlāin jamā kie jāte haiṃ.
All applications are submitted online.
This is not motion. किए agrees with masculine plural आवेदन, and habitual जाते हैं supplies passive and aspectual structure. See passive voice with जाना.
As a vector after a lexical stem, जाना can present a change as complete, irreversible, or moving away from the speaker's current sphere. The combinations are lexically restricted.
धूप निकलते ही धुंध छँट गई।
dhūp nikalte hī dhundh chãṭ gaī.
As soon as the sun came out, the fog cleared away.
Here छँट जाना profiles the completed disappearance of the fog. Do not attach जाना mechanically to every verb.
Causation and related motion verbs
Modern Standard Hindi does not use a regular causative जानाना for “make someone go.” It chooses a lexical motion predicate: भेजना “send,” ले जाना “take along/away,” or पहुँचाना “deliver/take to.”
मैंने ड्राइवर से मेहमानों को होटल पहुँचवाया।
maĩne ḍrāivar se mehmānoṃ ko hoṭal pahũcvāyā.
I had the driver take the guests to the hotel.
An idiomatic extension is मौका हाथ से जाना “let an opportunity slip away,” where motion away metaphorically expresses loss.
यह अच्छा मौका हाथ से मत जाने देना।
yah acchā maukā hāth se mat jāne denā.
Don't let this good opportunity slip away. (familiar)
Common Mistakes
Regularizing the perfective
❌ राधा कल दिल्ली जाई।
Incorrect — active जाना has suppletive feminine perfective गई.
✅ राधा कल दिल्ली गई।
rādhā kal dillī gaī.
Radha went to Delhi yesterday.
Adding ergative ने
❌ मोहन ने घर गया।
Incorrect — lexical जाना is intransitive and takes no ने.
✅ मोहन घर गया।
mohan ghar gayā.
Mohan went home.
Using an English-style universal goal marker
❌ मैं को दिल्ली जा रहा हूँ।
Incorrect — the traveler is unmarked, and दिल्ली is naturally a bare destination.
✅ मैं दिल्ली जा रहा हूँ।
maĩ dillī jā rahā hū̃.
I am going to Delhi. (male speaker)
Confusing passive जाया with active गया
❌ सीमा बाज़ार जाई गई।
Incorrect for ordinary motion — जाई गई belongs to a passive-shaped sequence, not active ‘went.’
✅ सीमा बाज़ार गई।
sīmā bāzār gaī.
Seema went to the market.
Key Takeaways
जाना has stem जा- but suppletive perfective गया. It is intransitive in its motion sense, so the unmarked traveler controls agreement and no ने appears. Destinations select different bare or postpositional frames. Beyond motion, जाना is a central passive auxiliary and a lexically restricted vector marking completion, change, or separation.
Now practice Hindi
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Hindi →Related Topics
- Perfective of जानाA2 — Use the irregular perfective गया, गई, गए, and गईं for completed going, with subject agreement and appropriate auxiliary layers.
- Passive voice with जानाB1 — Build Hindi passives from a perfective participle plus जाना, with the patient controlling agreement and the outer verb carrying tense, aspect, and mood.
- Passive stem plus -ā जानाB1 — Build the Hindi passive from an agreeing lexical participle and जाना, including regular forms, common irregular bases, and polarity.
- जाना as completion separation or passive vectorA2 — Distinguish bare-stem plus जाना compounds of completion and separation from participle plus जाना passive predicates.
- को as recipient and goal markerA1 — Use को for recipients, animate or institutional endpoints, selected experiencers, and time points while forming its oblique noun and pronoun complements.
- ले जाना le jānā: to take awayA2 — Reference ले जाना as a directional compound for carrying someone or something away, with जाना-based inflection and deictic contrasts.