# جزاك الله خيرًا



## linguist786

Mod. note: this thread is split from *here*.

Slightly off-topic, but: I don't understand why the "JAZAKALLAH" was changed by Ayed to put a "U" at the end..


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## Mery_Dian

Hello linguist786 

In "_Jaazaaka 'llahu Khayran_", _Allah _is the فاعل , so it should be مرفوع.


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## linguist786

Yeh, but come on! No-one says it like that though, do they?


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## Mery_Dian

Well, if you're talking about everyday speech, nobody would actually say _khayran _either


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## cherine

Actually some people do. Personally when I use this expression, which I don't often, I say it like this : jazaka'llaahu khayran (to male) jazaki'llahu khayran (to female). Maybe because it's not a colloquial expression after all, so I pronounce it correctly.
And I'm not the only one in this.


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## Mery_Dian

cherine said:
			
		

> Maybe because it's not a colloquial expression after all, so I pronounce it correctly.
> And I'm not the only one in this.


Yes I agree Cherine,

One might indeed use this expression in spoken language in some specific contexts (formal way to express gratitude, especially when discussing religious matters...). I guess it could be seen as a kind of (quasi) code switching between any variety of colloquial Arabic and MSA. 
Yet, each dialect has of course a more common way to say  _jazaka'llaahu khayran_. So we often say in Moroccan Arabic for example : _(A)llah yjaaziik bikhiir _, _rabbi ykhalliik _or _baarak' (A)llahu fiik_... while in Tunisian colloquial, I hear people say: _y3ayshek _in the same context. And if I'm not mistaken, in Egyptian Arabic, you usually say: _rabbina ykhalliik _among other phrases.


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## cherine

Mery_Dian said:
			
		

> And if I'm not mistaken, in Egyptian Arabic, you usually say: _rabbina ykhalliik _among other phrases.


Correct 
We -not just in Egypt- tend to use different ways of "praying God" for the person who did us good, as a way of thanking that person.
In Egypt there's ربنا يخلليك - ربنا يبارك لك - ربنا يكرمك .....


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## Mery_Dian

cherine said:
			
		

> In Egypt there's ربنا يخلليك - ربنا يبارك لك - ربنا يكرمك .....



الله ينوّر عليـك ​
_(yet another equivalent expression in Egyptian colloquial)_


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## cherine

we use it a lot, but not as a "thank you", it's more of a "well done".


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## Mery_Dian

Yes, sorry, my mistake... Now, it would be more relevant to tell you الله ينوّر عليـك


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## linguist786

Thanks for all the interesting posts people.

The thing is - I was trying to ask what the point of adding a "u" to "Jazaakallah" was - ON ITS OWN. I myself also say "Jazaakallah*u* khayr" - but that's only if I _do_ add the word "khayr(an)". If I just say "Jazaakallah" on it's own, then I don't add a "u".



What about you guys? Do you add a "u" even if you say "Jazaakallah" _on it's_ _own_?


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## elroy

I don't think I would say it on its own (جزاك الله خيرًا is a fixed expression), but if I _did_, I would indeed drop the "u".


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## LiliaGaripovaRadikovna

جزاك - is it a verb? Or a noun? Is it verb جزا? Meaning "to become satisfied" ?


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## cherine

It is a verb, and it means to reward. The ك (you) is the object of the verb مفعول به أول (this verb has 2 object, the second one is خيرًا).


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## LiliaGaripovaRadikovna

@cherine thank you very much) and verb جزا here is used in past form in meaning "God reward you", God reward you - in present in English?


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## cherine

Yes, the past tense is used here with the meaning of a wish or a prayer: I hope God rewards you, or: May God reward you.


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## LiliaGaripovaRadikovna

@cherine, the last question,  which one is correct جزأ/جزا/جزى?


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## spice harvester

It's جز followed by alif maqsoora. This alif maqsoora changes into a normal alif when not at the end of a word, as in جزاك الله خيرا. Otherwise, it would have been جزى.

Here's an example from the hadith:
‬وأنتم معشرَ الأنصار،‮ ‬فجزاكم الله أطيب الجزاء


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## LiliaGaripovaRadikovna

Thank you very much) In my dictionary is wrtten that this verb is used in this meaning with preposition ب, but here is no, just خيرا, why?


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## zj73

Is it possible for the last word to be mafool mutlaq?


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## bearded

cherine said:


> 2 objects, the second one is خيرًا


Oh, interesting. I had thought that خيرًا was an adverb - same meaning as 'bi-chayr' -  (reward you 'well'). But if it's an object, would it mean ''reward you for the good you did''?


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## Mahaodeh

LiliaGaripovaRadikovna said:


> Thank you very much) In my dictionary is wrtten that this verb is used in this meaning with preposition ب, but here is no, just خيرا, why?


The باء is optional, so is على. In Classical Arabic it does not replace المفعول به الثاني, it is used to denote what the reward is for, not who it is for (المفعول الأول) nor what it is (المفعول الثاني). For example:
وَجَزَاهُم بِمَا صَبَرُوا جَنَّةً وَحَرِيرًا - سورة الإنسان

Admittedly though, in many dialects the باء + الاسم المجرور replace المفعول به الثاني, and this sometimes affects how the native speakers use MSA, so you might find it used in both ways in MSA.



zj73 said:


> Is it possible for the last word to be mafool mutlaq?


No. It does not fit the definition of المفعول المطلق as خيرا does not emphasize the verb nor express its intensity, type, or number.

 It does however fit the definition of المفعول به. It is the thing that was given as reward.


bearded said:


> Oh, interesting. I had thought that خيرًا was an adverb - like 'bi-chayr' - (reward you 'well'). But if it's an object, would it mean ''reward you for the good you did''


No. Good here is neither adverbial nor an adjective, it’s a noun meaning affluence, favour from God, wealth, fortune…etc. As an object it would refer to what you are rewarded with: may God reward you with خير.


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## bearded

Mahaodeh said:


> No. Good here is neither adverbial nor an adjective, it’s a noun meaning affluence, favour from God, wealth, fortune…etc. As an object it would refer to what you are rewarded with: may God reward you with خير.


Many thanks, Mahaodeh, for your very clear explanation.


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## Ali Smith

Could خيرا be taken to be the نعت of a مفعول مطلق محذوف?

جزاك الله جزاءً خيرًا


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