Learn Arabic › A1 › كَي
كَي
in order to /ˈkaj/
particleA1#190 most common
Also: so that, in order that, so as to
Example sentences
أَدْرُسُ كَي أَنْجَحَ.
I study so that I pass.
ذَهَبْتُ إِلَى السُّوقِ كَي أَشْتَرِيَ الْخُبْزَ.
I went to the market to buy bread.
نَامَ مُبَكِّرًا كَي يَسْتَيْقِظَ نَشِيطًا.
He went to bed early so that he would wake up refreshed.
خَفَّضَتِ الْحُكُومَةُ الضَّرَائِبَ كَي تُنْعِشَ الِاقْتِصَادَ.
The government cut taxes in order to revive the economy.
صَمَتَ طَوِيلًا كَيْلَا يَقُولَ مَا يَنْدَمُ عَلَيْهِ.
He kept silent for a long time so as not to say something he would regret.
شُدِّدَتِ الرَّقَابَةُ لِكَيْ لَا يُفْلِتَ الْفَاسِدُونَ مِنَ الْعِقَابِ.
Oversight was tightened so that the corrupt would not escape punishment.
Word family
لِكَيin order that
كَيْلاlest, so that not
كَيْمَاin order that
حَتَّىso that, until
Etymology
كَي is a native Arabic particle of purpose. Grammarians class it as a ḥarf naṣb wa-taʿlīl, a particle that gives a reason and also puts the following imperfect verb in the subjunctive. It often takes the prefix لِ to form لِكَي, which carries the same sense.
Learn Arabic the way that sticks.
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,080 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free
Every word here is a full Polylex card with native audio and spaced repetition, so 4,080 words actually move into long-term memory.
Start free