کجا

See also: کچا

Persian

Etymology

From Middle Persian [script needed] (AYK gywʾk' /⁠kū gyāg⁠/). By surface analysis, کو (ku, “where”) +‎ جا (jâ, “place”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [ku.ˈd͡ʒɑː]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [kʰʊ.d͡ʒɑ́ː]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [kʰʊ.d͡ʒɑ́ː]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [kʰʊ.d͡ʒä]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [kʰu.d͡ʒä]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [kʰo.d͡ʒɒ́ː]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [kʰu.d͡ʒɔ́]

Readings
Classical reading?	kujā
Dari reading?	kujā
Iranian reading?	kojâ
Tajik reading?	kujo

Adverb

Dari	کجا
Iranian Persian
Tajik	куҷо

کُجا • (kojâ)

1. (interrogative) where

   Synonym: گجا (gijo)

   کجایم؟ می‌ترسم... ― kojâ-yam? mi-tarsam... ― Where am I? I'm afraid...

   کتاب تو کجاست؟ ― ketâb-e to kojâ-st? ― Where is your book?

   کجا می‌ری؟ (colloquial) ― kojâ mi-ri? ― Where are you going?

2. (interrogative) how; when; under what conditions

   Synonyms: چطور (četowr), چگونه (čegune)

   • c. 1390, Shams-ud-Dīn Muḥammad Ḥāfiẓ, “Ghazal 1”, in دیوان حافظ [The Divān of Ḥāfiẓ]‎^[1]:

     شب تاریک و بیم موج و گردابی چنین هایل
     کجا دانند حال ما سبکباران ساحل‌ها

     šab-i tārīk u bīm-i mawj u girdābē čunīn hāyil
     kujā dānand hāl-i mā sabukbārān-i sāhil-hā

     The dark night, the fear of waves, so terrifying a whirlpool!
     How can the lightly burdened on the coast know our condition?

     (Classical Persian transliteration)

Inflection

Predicative forms of کجا (kojâ)
	singular	plural
1st person (“I am, we are”)	کجایم (kojâyam) کجام △ (kojâm)	کجاییم (kojâyim)
2nd person (“you are”)	کجایی (kojâyi)	کجایید (kojâyid) کجایین △ (kojâyin)
3rd person (“he/she/it is, they are”)	کجاست (kojâst) کجاس، کجائه △ (kojâs, kojâe)	کجایند (kojâyand) کجان △ (kojân)
△ Colloquial.

Conjunction

کُجا • (kojâ)

1. (obsolete) because [up to 12th century]

   Synonyms: زیرا (zirâ), چون (čon)

   • c. 1030, Fakhr al-Dīn Asʿad Gurgānī, ويس و رامين [Vīs u Rāmīn]‎^[2]:

     کجا یزدان امیدم را وفا کرد
     بدین پیوند کامم را روا کرد

     kujā yazdān umēd-am rā wafā kard
     bad-ĕn paywand kām-am rā rawā kard

     Because God was loyal to my hope,
     He permitted my desire through this bond.

     (Classical Persian transliteration)

Related terms

• آنجا (ânjâ)
• اونجا (unjâ)
• اینجا (injâ)