Learn Arabic › A1 › كَأَنَّ
كَأَنَّ
as if /kaˈʔan.na/
particleA1#365 most common
Also: as though, as if it were, it seems that
Example sentences
كَأَنَّكَ بَطَلٌ.
It is as if you are a hero.
كَأَنَّ السَّمَاءَ تَبْكِي.
It is as if the sky is crying.
كَأَنَّهَا لَمْ تَنَمْ مُنْذُ أَيَّامٍ.
It is as if she has not slept for days.
تَحَدَّثَ بِثِقَةٍ كَأَنَّهُ يَعْرِفُ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ.
He spoke with confidence as if he knew everything.
كَأَنَّ الْمَدِينَةَ تَوَقَّفَتْ عَنِ الْحَرَكَةِ بَعْدَ مُنْتَصَفِ اللَّيْلِ.
It was as if the city had stopped moving after midnight.
يَصِفُ الشَّاعِرُ الذِّكْرَيَاتِ كَأَنَّهَا أَشْبَاحٌ تُطَارِدُهُ فِي صَمْتِ اللَّيْلِ.
The poet describes memories as if they were ghosts haunting him in the silence of the night.
Word family
Etymology
كَأَنَّ is a compound. It joins the comparative particle كَ (ka, 'like, as') to the subordinating particle أَنَّ (anna, 'that'). The literal sense, 'like that,' narrowed to mean 'as if.' Both elements are old Semitic particles with no Indo-European source.
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