إجا

North Levantine Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic جَاءَ (jāʔa).

Verb

إجا • (ʾija) I (non-past يجي (yiji), active participle جاي (jāy))

1. to come
2. to arrive

South Levantine Arabic

Alternative forms

• إجى (ʔija) (alternative spelling)
• أجا (ʔaja)

Etymology

From Arabic جَاءَ (jāʔa).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔi.ʒa/, [ˈʔi.ʒa], [ˈʔi.d͡ʒa]

• Audio (al-Lidd):

  (file)

Verb

إجا • (ʔija) I (present بيجي (bīji), active participle جاي (jāy))

1. to come

   Antonym: راح (rāḥ)

   فيه حدا جاي غيري؟ ― fīh ḥada jāy ḡēri ― Is anyone coming aside from me?

   هو دايمًا بيجي عالوقت المناسب.

   huwwe dāyman bīji ʕal-waʔt li-mnāseb

   He always comes at the appropriate time.

   إجى الجيش بقوّة عيسكريّة كبيرة.

   ʔija l-jēš bi-ʔuwwa ʕaskariyye kbīre

   The army came with a lot of (lit. big) military power.

   إجت شويّة قهوة على قميصي.

   ʔijat šwayyet ʔahwe ʕala ʔamīṣti

   A little coffee got on (lit. came to) my shirt.

   تعال عندي (لعندي) نحكي شويّ عن الموضوع.

   taʕāl ʕindi (la-ʕindi) niḥki šwayy ʕan il-mōḍūʕ

   Come over to my place to talk a bit about the issue.

2. (by extension) to arrive

   من أوّل ما إجيت وإنتي بتحطّي مكياج.

   min ʔawwal mā ʔijīt w ʔinti bitḥoṭṭi mikyāj

   You've been putting on makeup from the moment I arrived.

   (literally, “Since as soon as I arrived you're putting makeup.”)

3. to come up to, to approach [with ل (la-) ‘to’]

   إجتلي وطلبت منّي أعملّها معروف.

   ʔijat-li w-ṭalbat minni ʔaʕmil-lha maʕrūf

   She came up to me and asked me to do her a favor.

4. (by extension) to get, to receive (with recipient as direct object)

   إجاني كتير تلفونات من عيلتي اليوم.

   ʔijāni ktīr telefōnāt min ʕēlti l-yōm

   I got a lot of calls from my family today.

   إجتني فرصة أروح أدرس طبّ في بريطانيا.

   ʔijatni furṣa ʔarūḥ ʔadros ṭibb fi brīṭānya

   I got an opportunity to go study medicine in the UK.

5. (by extension) to fit (in a space) [with في (fi) ‘into something’]

   Antonym: وسع (wasaʕ)

   ولا يمكن هالخزانة تيجي بالغرفة.

   wala yumken hāl-ḵazāne tīji bil-ḡorfe

   There's no way this wardrobe will fit in the room.

6. (by extension) to fit (of clothes) [with على (ʕala)]

   للأسف البنطلون ما بيجي علي (على قدّي) منيح.

   lil-ʔasaf il-banṭalōn ma bīji ʕalay (ʕala ʔaddi) mnīḥ

   Unfortunately the pants don't fit me well.

Usage notes

• The imperative of this verb is irregular, derived from Arabic تَعَالَ (taʕāla, “come here”).

Conjugation

Conjugation of إجا (ʔija / ʔaja)
		singular				plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person		1st person	2nd person	3rd person
past	m	جيت (jīt / ʔijīt / ʔajīt)	جيت (jīt / ʔijīt / ʔajīt)	إجا (ʔija / ʔaja)		جينا (jīna / ʔijīna)	جيتو (jītu / ʔijītu)	إجو (ʔiju / ʔaju)
	f		جيتي (jīti / ʔijīti / ʔajīti)	إجت (ʔijat / ʔajat)
present	m	باجي (bāji)	بتيجي (btīji)	بيجي (bīji)		منيجي (mnīji)	بتيجو (btīju)	بيجو (bīju)
	f		بتيجي (btīji)	بتيجي (btīji)
subjunctive	m	آجي (ʔāji)	تيجي (tīji)	ييجي (yīji)		نيجي (nīji)	تيجو (tīju)	ييجو (yīju)
	f		تيجي (tīji)	تيجي (tīji)
imperative	m		تعال (taʕāl)				تعالو (taʕālu)
	f		تعالي (taʕāli)

Derived terms

• إجا عالوجع (ʔija ʕal-wajʕ, “to come right on time”)
• جاعبال (jāʕbāl, “to feel like (doing something)”)
• إجا يكحّلها عماها (ʔija ykaḥḥelha ʕamāha, “to make matters worse”)