# كان
## Arabic
### Etymology 1

From Proto-Semitic *kawan- (“to be or exist in a place”).

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /kaː.na/
* Audio:(file)

#### Verb

كَانَ • (kāna) I (non-past يَكُونُ (yakūnu), verbal noun كَوْن (kawn) or كِيَان (kiyān) or كَيْنُونَة (kaynūna))
* (copulative) to be [with accusative]
* (auxiliary) forms the past perfect, past continuous, future perfect and future continuous tenses
    كَانَ (قَدْ) فَعَلَ ― kāna (qad) faʕala ― He had done.
    كَانَ يَفْعَلُ ― kāna yafʕalu ― He was doing.
    كَانَ سيَفْعَلُ ― He ....
    كَانَ ليَفْعَلَ ― He ....
    سَيَكُونُ (قَدْ) فَعَلَ ― sayakūnu (qad) faʕala ― He will have done.
    سَيَكُونُ يَفْعَلُ ― sayakūnu yafʕalu ― He will be doing.
* (intransitive) to exist, to be, there be
** 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 2:280:وَإِنْ كَانَ ذُو عُسْرَةٍ فَنَظِرَةٌ إِلَىٰ مَيْسَرَةٍwaʔin kāna ḏū ʕusratin fanaẓiratun ʔilā maysaratinAnd if he is in unease, then [let there be] a delay until a time of ease.
** 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 40:68:هُوَ الَّذِي يُحْيِي وَيُمِيتُ فَإِذَا قَضَىٰ أَمْرًا فَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُhuwa llaḏī yuḥyī wayumītu faʔiḏā qaḍā ʔamran faʔinnamā yaqūlu lahu kun fayakūnuIt is He who causes to live and causes to die. And when He decided a matter, he says to it, "Be", and it is.
** 1865 CE, Bible (SVD), Book of Genesis, 1:3:وَقَالَ اللهُ: «لِيَكُنْ نُورٌ»، فَكَانَ نُورٌ.waqāla llāhu: “liyakun nūrun”, fakāna nūrun.And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. (literally, And God says, “Let light be”; and light is.)
* to behove
    Synonym: يَنْبَغِي (yanbaḡī)
** 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 24:16:وَلَوْلَا إِذْ سَمِعْتُمُوهُ قُلْتُمْ مَا يَكُونُ لَنَا أَنْ نَتَكَلَّمَ بِهَٰذَا سُبْحَانَكَ هَٰذَا بُهْتَانٌ عَظِيمٌwalawlā ʔiḏ samiʕtumūhu qultum mā yakūnu lanā ʔan natakallama bihāḏā subḥānaka hāḏā buhtānun ʕaẓīmun(please add an English translation of this quotation)
* to happen, to occur, to take place

##### Usage notes

* Like all copulative verbs in Arabic, كَانَ (kāna) takes a predicate in the accusative case. This contrasts with old Indo-European languages such as Latin and Greek, in which the predicate of a copulative verb is in the nominative case.
    كَانَ جَمَالٌ عَبْدُ ٱلنَّاصِرِ رَئِيسَ جُمْهُورِيَّةِ مِصْرَ ٱلْعَرَبِيَّةِ.kāna jamālun ʕabdu n-nāṣiri raʔīsa jumhūriyyati miṣra l-ʕarabiyyati.Gamal Abdel Nasser was the president of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
* In the present indicative, “to be” is most often expressed by a nominal sentence (جُمْلَة اِسْمِيَّة (jumla ismiyya)) with no verb. In this case, the predicate is in the nominative case.
    عَبْدُ الْفَتَّاحِ ٱلسِّيسِي (هُوَ) رَئِيسُ جُمْهُورِيَّةِ مِصْرَ ٱلْعَرَبِيَّةِ.ʕabdu l-fattāḥi s-sīsī (huwa) raʔīsu jumhūriyyati miṣra l-ʕarabiyyati.Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is the president of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
* Imperfect forms of كَانَ (kāna) are not rare, however:
** They occur after certain conjunctions that must always be followed by a verb:
    أُرِيدُ أَنْ أَكُونَ غَنِيًّا. ― ʔurīdu ʔan ʔakūna ḡaniyyan. ― I want to be rich.
** They are sometimes used instead of a nominal sentence to provide for a clearer sentence structure.
* The jussive forms that end in sukun sometimes drop the final ـن (-n), giving: يَكُ (yaku), تَكُ (taku), أَكُ (ʔaku), نَكُ (naku).
* كَانَ (kāna) is the only verb in Arabic that can be followed by a past-tense verb.

##### Alternative forms

* כאן — Judeo-Arabic

### Etymology 2

From French Caen, q.v.

#### Proper noun

كان • (kān) ?
* Caen (a city in France)

### Etymology 3

From French Cannes, q.v.

#### Proper noun

كَان⁩ • (Kān) ?
* Cannes (a city in France)

### See also

* لَيْسَ (laysa)

### References

* Wehr, Hans (1979) “كون”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, →ISBN

## Egyptian Arabic
### Etymology

From Arabic كَانَ (kāna).

### Pronunciation

IPA: /kaːn/, [kæːn]

### Verb

كان • (kān) (verbal noun كون (kōn))
* (copulative) to be (see usage notes)
* (auxiliary with indicative) Indicates progressive or continuous aspect: to be
    Synonyms: قعد (aʕad), فضل (faḍal, fiḍil)
    كان بيحاول يقولك ― kān biyḥāwil yiʔullak ― He was trying to tell you
* (in the past-tense, auxiliary with subjunctive) Expresses regret or condemnation: should have
    Synonym: بقى (baʔa) (present-tense)
    كان يحاول يقولك ― kān yiḥāwil yiʔullak ― [Then,] he should have tried to tell you
* (in the past-tense, auxiliary with future-tense) Indicates a conditional: would
    كان حيحاول يقولك ― kān ḥayḥāwil yiʔullak ― [Then,] he would have tried to tell you

#### Usage notes

In the present indicative, it is not used, a nominal sentence is used instead.

#### Conjugation

$^1$ The future tense can be prefixed with either هـ (ha-) or حـ (ḥa-) depending on the speaker.

## Hijazi Arabic
### Etymology

From Arabic كَانَ (kāna).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /kaːn/

### Verb

كان • (kān) I (non-past يِكُون (yikūn))
* to be

#### Conjugation
## South Levantine Arabic
### Etymology

From Arabic كَانَ (kāna).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /kaːn/, [kæːn]
* Audio (al-Lidd):(file)

### Verb

كان • (kān) I (present بكون (bikūn), active participle كاين (kāyen))
* to be
    Synonym: (rural) بقى (baka)
    الشباب كانو في البيت. ― iš-šabāb kānu fi l-bēt ― The guys were in the house.
    وين كاينة؟ ― wēn kāyne? ― Where have you been?
    لازم تكوني فاهمة على وضعه.lāzim tkūni fāhme ʕala waḍaʕoYou should be understanding of his situation.
* (auxiliary, by extension) (with subjunctive) continuous and habitual aspect marker
    هي رح تكون تحكي مع الدكتور.hiyye rāḥ tkūn tiḥki maʕ id-doktōrShe will be speaking to the doctor.
    وانا زغير، كنت اسافر كتير مع اهلي.w-ana zġīr, kunt asāfer ktīr maʕ ahliWhen I was young, I used to travel a lot with my parents.
* (auxiliary, by extension) (with past tense) perfect aspect marker
    لمّا جيت، كنت خلّصت.lamma jīt, kunt ḵallaṣtWhen you came, I had already finished.(literally, “When you came, I was I finished it.”)
    بكرا بتكون خلّصته.bukra bitkūn ḵallaṣtoTomorrow you will have finished it.(literally, “Tomorrow, you will be you finished it.”)
* (auxiliary) (optional; always in the past tense) sets up the main clause in a counterfactual conditional
    لو سألتني، (كنت) قلتلّك.law saʔaltni, (kunt) ʔultillakIf you had asked me, I would have told you.
    لو بتسألني، (كنت) بقلّك.law btisʔalni, (kunt) baʔullakIf you were to ask me, I would tell you.

#### Usage notes

* The copula "to be" is omitted in the present tense, whereas the present form of كان (kān) is used to express the future tense.