जब तक ... नहीं

Until

Level 4Sounds Like jaba taka ... nahīṁ

जब तक means as long as. With न or नहीं in its clause, it means until.

How It Works

English says until; Hindi says as long as ... not. जब तक means as long as, so जब तक मैं न आऊँ is literally as long as I do not come. In natural English that is until I come: जब तक मैं न आऊँ, यहीं रुको।

The negative has two common shapes:

  • न with the subjunctive: जब तक मैं न आऊँ, जब तक डॉक्टर न कहें.
  • नहीं with an ordinary verb: जब तक बारिश नहीं रुकती, जब तक काम ख़त्म नहीं हुआ.

Notice that जब तक बारिश नहीं रुकती uses a present form even when it points to the future. The main clause carries the future: हम अंदर रहेंगे.

The main clause can begin with तब तक (until then) to make the link clear. The जब तक clause can also come second: मैं तब तक नहीं सोऊँगी जब तक तुम घर नहीं पहुँच जाते.

Without the negative, जब तक keeps its basic meaning: जब तक मैं यहाँ हूँ means as long as I am here. With a completed past verb it means by the time: जब तक मैं स्टेशन पहुँचा, ट्रेन जा चुकी थी. So keep न or नहीं when you mean until. After a noun or the -ने form, plain तक also means until: पाँच बजे तक, उसके आने तक.

Examples (4)

  1. जब तक मैं वापस न आऊँ, तुम यहीं रुकना।

    Wait right here until I come back.

    न with the subjunctive आऊँ gives until.

  2. जब तक बारिश नहीं रुकती, हम अंदर ही रहेंगे।

    We'll stay inside until the rain stops.

    The present form रुकती points to the future here.

  3. जब तक काम ख़त्म नहीं हुआ, तब तक सलमा दफ़्तर में ही रही।

    Salma stayed at the office until the work was finished.

    तब तक opens the main clause: until then.

  4. मैं तब तक नहीं सोऊँगी जब तक तुम घर नहीं पहुँच जाते।

    I won't go to sleep until you get home.

    The जब तक clause can follow the main clause.

Common Mistakes

  • Dropping the negative when you mean until.

    जब तक बारिश रुकती है, हम अंदर रहेंगे।
    जब तक बारिश नहीं रुकती, हम अंदर रहेंगे।

    Without नहीं, जब तक means as long as, so the sentence no longer says until the rain stops.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

जब तक ... नहींLevel 4Until

Learn This First

Until combines जब and तक with a negative clause, often in the subjunctive.

Words in This Pattern

जब तकजबतकन