Arabic → English
كانَ in English
- Pronunciation
- kāna
- Arabizi
kan- Type
- verb · masculine
- Root
- ك و ن
Other meanings
- كَانَ kāna — had been · had been
- كَانَ kāna — it were · it were
How to use it
'Kāna' is a very common verb in Arabic, often translated as 'was' or 'were'. It's used to talk about past states or conditions. It conjugates like other verbs, changing for person, number, and gender. It can also be used with 'qad' to form the past perfect tense ('had been').
Example sentences
-
كانَ الجوُّ بارداً.
kāna al-jawwu bāridan.
The weather was cold.
-
كانوا قد وصلوا قبلنا.
kānū qad waṣalū qablanā.
They had arrived before us.
-
لو كان الأمرُ بيدي، لفعلتُ ذلك.
law kāna al-amru bi-yadī, lafaʿaltu dhālika.
If it were up to me, I would do that.
Examples from real texts
Sentences taken from published bilingual texts (subtitles, documents). They show the word in context and are not reviewed one by one.
كانَ سامي يُشاهِدُ التِّلفاز.
Sami was watching TV.
كانَ قميصهُ رمادياً وربطةُ عُنقهِ صفراءَ.
His shirt was gray and the tie was yellow.
كانَ سامي يستدرِج العاهرات إلى عربته ثمّ يغتصِبُهُنَّ.
Sami lured prostitutes into his van then raped them.
Related words and expressions
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