Learn Arabic › A1 › لٰكِنَّ
لٰكِنَّ
but /laːˈkin.na/
particleA1#29 most common
Also: however, yet, but rather
Example sentences
البيت صغير لٰكِنَّهُ جميل.
The house is small, but it is beautiful.
هي ذكية لٰكِنَّها كسولة قليلًا.
She is smart, but she is a little lazy.
حاولتُ كثيرًا لٰكِنَّني لم أنجح.
I tried hard, but I did not succeed.
أردتُ أن أساعدَهُ لٰكِنَّ الوقتَ لم يكن كافيًا.
I wanted to help him, but there was not enough time.
كنّا نظنُّ أنّ المشروع فاشل، لٰكِنَّ النتائجَ فاجأت الجميعَ.
We thought the project was a failure, but the results surprised everyone.
بدا الاتفاقُ وشيكًا في الظاهر، لٰكِنَّ تباينَ المصالح بين الطرفين أجهض المفاوضاتِ في اللحظة الأخيرة.
The agreement seemed imminent on the surface, but the divergence of interests between the two parties aborted the negotiations at the last moment.
Word family
لٰكِنْbut (simple form)
إِنَّindeed, verily
أَنَّthat (subordinating)
كَأَنَّas if
لَيْتَif only, would thatEtymology
لٰكِنَّ is a frozen function word of Classical Arabic, the emphatic counterpart of the lighter conjunction لٰكِنْ. Arab grammarians traditionally analyzed it as a compound, variously derived from لا plus a following element, or as لٰكِنْ fused with the emphatic particle إنّ — an analysis that would explain why it governs the noun after it in the accusative, like the 'sisters of inna.' Its precise origin is debated, and it is native Semitic vocabulary with no Indo-European etymology.
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