Learn Arabic › A1 › كان
كان
to be (was/were) /ˈkaː.na/
verbA1#4 most common
Also: to exist, used to (be) / habitual past, to become
Example sentences
كان الجوُّ جميلاً.
The weather was beautiful.
كنتُ في البيت أمس.
I was at home yesterday.
كان أبي يعمل في المستشفى.
My father used to work at the hospital.
لو كنتُ غنياً لاشتريتُ بيتاً كبيراً.
If I were rich, I would buy a big house.
كانت السماء صافية عندما غادرنا المدينة.
The sky was clear when we left the city.
ما كان لأحدٍ أن يتوقّع ما حدث في تلك الليلة.
It was not for anyone to foresee what happened that night.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | أكونُ | كنتُ | سأكونُ |
| 2sg | تكونُ | كنتَ | ستكونُ |
| 3sg | يكونُ | كانَ | سيكونُ |
| 1pl | نكونُ | كنّا | سنكونُ |
| 2pl | تكونونَ | كنتُم | ستكونونَ |
| 3pl | يكونونَ | كانوا | سيكونونَ |
Word family
كَوْنuniverse, cosmosمَكانplace, locationكائِنbeing, creature, existent
تَكْوينformation, makeup
مُكَوِّنcomponent, ingredient
Etymology
كَانَ derives from the common Semitic root k-w-n, meaning 'to be, to exist, to be firmly established.' It is a 'hollow' verb whose weak middle radical (و) surfaces as a long ā in the past tense (kāna) but as ū in the imperfect (yakūnu). In Arabic grammar it heads a famous class of copular verbs, 'kāna and her sisters,' which govern the predicate in the accusative case.
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