كان

See also: کان‎, كأن‎, and گان‎

Arabic

Etymology

From the root ك و ن‎ (k-w-n), from Proto-Semitic *k-w-n- (“to be or exist in a place”). Compare Ge'ez ኮነ (konä) and Akkadian 𒄀𒈾 (/kânu/, “to be firm in place”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /kaː.na/
Audio (file)
- (Central Asia) IPA^(key): /kōn/[1]

Verb

كَانَ • (kāna) I, non-past يَكُونُ‎‎ (yakūnu)

(copulative) to be [+accusative]
to exist
- Bible (SVD), Book of Genesis, 1:3
  ‏وَقَالَ اللهُ: «لِيَكُنْ نُورٌ»، فَكَانَ نُورٌ.‎‎
  waqāla llāhu: “liyakun nūrun”, fakāna nūrun.
  And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
to happen, to occur, to take place

Usage notes

Like all copulative verbs in Arabic, كَانَ‎ (kāna) takes a predicate in the accusative case. This contrasts with old Indo-European languages such as Latin and Greek, in which the predicate of a copulative verb is in the nominative case.
‏كَانَ جَمَالٌ عَبْدُ ٱلنَّاصِرِ رَئِيسَ جُمْهُورِيَّةِ مِصْرَ ٱلْعَرَبِيَّةِ.‎‎
kāna jamālun ʿabdu n-nāṣiri raʾīsa jumhūriyyati miṣra l-ʿarabiyyati.
Gamal Abdel Nasser was the president of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
In the present indicative, “to be” is most often expressed by a nominal sentence (جُمْلَة اِسْمِيَّة‎ (jumla ismiyya)) with no verb. In this case, the predicate is in the nominative case.
‏عَبْدُ الْفَتَّاحِ ٱلسِّيسِي (هُوَ) رَئِيسُ جُمْهُورِيَّةِ مِصْرَ ٱلْعَرَبِيَّةِ.‎‎
ʿabdu l-fattāḥi s-sīsī (huwa) raʾīsu jumhūriyyati miṣra l-ʿarabiyyati.
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is the president of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
Imperfect forms of كَانَ‎ (kāna) are not rare, however:
- They occur after certain conjunctions that must always be followed by a verb:
  ‏أُرِيدُ أَنْ أَكُونَ غَنِيًّا.‎‎
  ʾurīdu ʾan ʾakūna ḡaniyyan.
  I want to be rich.
- They are sometimes used instead of a nominal sentence to provide for a clearer sentence structure.
The jussive forms that end in sukun, sometimes drop the final ن‎ (n), giving: يَكُ‎ (yaku), تَكُ‎ (taku), أَكُ‎ (ʾaku), نَكُ‎ (naku).

Conjugation

Conjugation of

كَانَ

(form-I hollow, verbal nouns كَوْن or كِيَان or كَيْنُونَة)

active voice الْفِعْل الْمَعْلُوم
verbal nouns الْمَصَادِر					كَوْن‎ or كِيَان‎ or كَيْنُونَة‎ kawn or kiyān or kaynūna
active participle اِسْم الْفَاعِل					كَائِن‎ kāʾin
		singular الْمُفْرَد			dual الْمُثَنَّى		plural الْجَمْع
		1^st person الْمُتَكَلِّم	2^nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3^rd person الْغَائِب	2^nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3^rd person الْغَائِب	1^st person الْمُتَكَلِّم	2^nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3^rd person الْغَائِب
past (perfect) indicative الْمَاضِي	m	كُنْتُ‎ kuntu	كُنْتَ‎ kunta	كَانَ kāna	كُنْتُمَا‎ kuntumā	كَانَا‎ kānā	كُنَّا‎ kunnā	كُنْتُمْ‎ kuntum	كَانُوا‎ kānū
past (perfect) indicative الْمَاضِي	f	كُنْتُ‎ kuntu	كُنْتِ‎ kunti	كَانَتْ‎ kānat	كُنْتُمَا‎ kuntumā	كَانَتَا‎ kānatā	كُنَّا‎ kunnā	كُنْتُنَّ‎ kuntunna	كُنَّ‎ kunna
non-past (imperfect) indicative الْمُضَارِع	m	أَكُونُ‎ ʾakūnu	تَكُونُ‎ takūnu	يَكُونُ‎ yakūnu	تَكُونَانِ‎ takūnāni	يَكُونَانِ‎ yakūnāni	نَكُونُ‎ nakūnu	تَكُونُونَ‎ takūnūna	يَكُونُونَ‎ yakūnūna
non-past (imperfect) indicative الْمُضَارِع	f	أَكُونُ‎ ʾakūnu	تَكُونِينَ‎ takūnīna	تَكُونُ‎ takūnu	تَكُونَانِ‎ takūnāni	تَكُونَانِ‎ takūnāni	نَكُونُ‎ nakūnu	تَكُنَّ‎ takunna	يَكُنَّ‎ yakunna
subjunctive الْمُضَارِع الْمَنْصُوب	m	أَكُونَ‎ ʾakūna	تَكُونَ‎ takūna	يَكُونَ‎ yakūna	تَكُونَا‎ takūnā	يَكُونَا‎ yakūnā	نَكُونَ‎ nakūna	تَكُونُوا‎ takūnū	يَكُونُوا‎ yakūnū
subjunctive الْمُضَارِع الْمَنْصُوب	f	أَكُونَ‎ ʾakūna	تَكُونِي‎ takūnī	تَكُونَ‎ takūna	تَكُونَا‎ takūnā	تَكُونَا‎ takūnā	نَكُونَ‎ nakūna	تَكُنَّ‎ takunna	يَكُنَّ‎ yakunna
jussive الْمُضَارِع الْمَجْزُوم	m	أَكُنْ‎ ʾakun	تَكُنْ‎ takun	يَكُنْ‎ yakun	تَكُونَا‎ takūnā	يَكُونَا‎ yakūnā	نَكُنْ‎ nakun	تَكُونُوا‎ takūnū	يَكُونُوا‎ yakūnū
jussive الْمُضَارِع الْمَجْزُوم	f	أَكُنْ‎ ʾakun	تَكُونِي‎ takūnī	تَكُنْ‎ takun	تَكُونَا‎ takūnā	تَكُونَا‎ takūnā	نَكُنْ‎ nakun	تَكُنَّ‎ takunna	يَكُنَّ‎ yakunna
imperative الْأَمْر	m		كُنْ‎ kun		كُونَا‎ kūnā			كُونُوا‎ kūnū
imperative الْأَمْر	f		كُونِي‎ kūnī		كُونَا‎ kūnā			كُنَّ‎ kunna

Related terms

اِسْتِكَانَة‎ (istikāna)
تَكَوَّنَ‎ (takawwana)
كائِن‎ (kāʾin)
كِنَان‎ (kinān)
كَوْن‎ (kawn)
كَوْنِيّ‎ (kawniyy, “cosmic, universal”)
مُسْتَكِين‎ (mustakīn)
مَكَان‎ (makān)
مَكَانَة‎ (makāna)
مَكَانِيّ‎ (makāniyy, “local, spatial”)
مَكَانِيَّة‎ (makāniyya, “spatiality”)
مُكَوَّن‎ (mukawwan)

References

Wehr, Hans (1979), “كون”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, →ISBN

Cowan, W. (1960). Arabic evidence for Proto-Semitic*/awa/and*/ō. Language, 60-62.

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[1] Cowan, W. (1960). Arabic evidence for Proto-Semitic*/awa/and*/ō. Language, 60-62.