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إن. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
إن, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
إن in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
إن you have here. The definition of the word
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Arabic
Etymology 1
Inherited from Proto-West Semitic *him, from Proto-Semitic *šim.
Pronunciation
Conjunction
إِن • (ʔin)
- (conditional) if (possible, not contrary to fact)
إِنْ تَدْرُسْ تَنْجَحْ- ʔin tadrus tanjaḥ
- If you study you (will) succeed.
إِنْ لَا تَدْرُسْ لَا تَنْجَحْ- ʔin lā tadrus lā tanjaḥ
- If you do not study you (will) not succeed.
اَلْمَرْءُ مَقْتُولٌ بِمَا قَتَلَ بِهِ: إِنْ سَيْفًا فَسَيْفٌ، وَإِنْ خِنْجَرًا فَخِنْجَرٌ.- al-marʔu maqtūlun bimā qatala bihi: ʔin sayfan fasayfun, waʔin ḵinjaran faḵinjarun.
- A person is killed by what they are killed with, whether it's a sword, it's a sword, and if it's a dagger, it's a dagger.
اَلنَّاسُ مَجْزِيُّونَ بِأَعَمَالِهِمْ: إِنْ خَيْرًا فَخَيْرٌ، وَإنْ شَرًّا فَشَرٌّ.- an-nāsu majziyyūna biʔaʕamālihim: ʔin ḵayran faḵayrun, waʔin šarran fašarrun.
- People are rewarded for their deeds, if it's good, it's good, and if it's evil, it's evil.
609–632 CE, Qur'an, 2:111:هَاتُوا بُرْهَانَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ- hātū burhānakum ʔin kuntum ṣādiqīna
- Give your proof, if you are truthful.
Usage notes
Normally for conditions that are capable of being fulfilled. For contrary-to-fact conditions, use لَوْ (law). Used with the past tense or the jussive, in both cases with a present-tense meaning.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Etymology 2
Cognate to Hebrew הִנֵּה (“lo, behold”).[1][2]
Pronunciation
Particle
إِنَّ • (ʔinna)
- indeed, an emphasizing sentence particle, usually untranslated
إِنِّي فَقِيرٌ وَلَا أَجِدُ طَعَامًا أُطْعِمُ أَوْلَادِي وَعَائِلَتِي، فَسَاعِدْنِي.- ʔinnī faqīrun wa-lā ʔajidu ṭaʕāman ʔuṭʕimu ʔawlādī wa-ʕāʔilatī, fa-sāʕidnī.
- Indeed, I am poor and can't find food to feed my children and my family, so please help me.
Usage notes
- The subject of a clause containing إِنَّ (ʔinna) takes the accusative case, personal pronouns take enclitic forms.
- When إِنَّ (ʔinna) is followed by the first person singular enclitic ـِي (-ī, “my, me”), it produces forms إِنِّي (ʔinnī) or إِنَّنِي (ʔinnanī). When it is followed by the first person plural enclitic نَا (nā, “our, us”), it produces forms إِنَّا (ʔinnā) or إِنَّنَا (ʔinnanā).
Inflection
Derived terms
See also
Etymology 3
Cognate to Hebrew אין (ein).
Pronunciation
Particle
إِنْ • (ʔin)
- (archaic) not
609–632 CE, Qur'an, 67:20:إِنِ الْكَافِرُونَ إِلَّا فِي غُرُورٍ- ʔini al-kāfirūna ʔillā fī ḡurūrin
- the disbelievers are not but in delusion
609–632 CE, Qur'an, 4:62:إِنْ أَرَدْنَا إِلَّا إِحْسَانًا وَتَوْفِيقًا- ʔin ʔaradnā ʔillā ʔiḥsānan wa-tawfīqan
- we intended nothing but good conduct and accommodation
a. 869, Al-Jāḥiẓ, “طرف أهل خراسان”, in البخلاء:لَا وَٱللّٰهِ، إِنْ أَهْلَكَ النَّاسَ وَلَا أَقْفَرَ بُيُوتَهُمْ وَلَا تَرَكَ دُورَهُمْ بَلَاقِعَ إِلَّا الْإِيمَانُ بِٱلْخَلَفِ- lā wal-lāhi, ʔin ʔahlaka n-nāsa walā ʔaqfara buyūtahum walā taraka dūrahum balāqiʕa ʔillā l-ʔīmānu bi-l-ḵalafi
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Synonyms
References
- ^ Lipiński, Edward (2001) Semitic Languages: Outline of a Comparative Grammar (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta; 80), 2nd edition, Leuven: Peeters, →ISBN, page 482:
One of the oldest and most important presentatives is *han, attested in Palaeosyrian and in Old Akkadian en-ma, later umma by assimilation. It is found in Ugaritic (hn), in Old Canaanite (a-nu, a-nu-ú, an-nu, an-nu-ú), in Hebrew (hinnē), in Arabic (ʾinna), In Ge'ez (ʾən-ka); e.g. Arabic ʾinna llāha ʾalā kulli šayʾin qadīrun, "behold, God has power over everything". It should be identified with the West Semitic article han-, but carefully distinguished from the conditional particle hn → ʾn.
- ^ Hetzron, Robert (1997) The Semitic Languages, page 201: The particle ʾinna, etymologically cognate to Hebrew hen, hinne: "behold", emphasizes that the speaker's utterance is true.
- Lane, Edward William (1863) “إن”, in Arabic-English Lexicon, London: Williams & Norgate, page 103 seqq.
- Wehr, Hans (1979) “إن”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, →ISBN, page 37
Egyptian Arabic
Etymology 1
From Arabic إن (ʔin).
Conjunction
إن • (ʔin)
- if
إن قلت أه نبقى موافقين- ʔin ʔult ʔāh nibʔa mwafʔīn
- If you say yes, we're agreed.
إن كان كويس ولا وحش- ʔin kān kuwayyis walla wiḥiš
- Whether it be good or bad.
See also
- إذا (ʔiza, “if”), لو (law, “if”)
Etymology 2
From Arabic أَنَّ (ʔanna).
Conjunction
إن • (ʔinn)
- that
واضح إنه بيحبك- wāḍiḥ ʔinnu biyḥibbik
- It's obvious that he loves you.
بيصرف مال كإنه غني- biyiṣrif māl ka-ʔinnu ḡani
- He spends money as if he were rich.
South Levantine Arabic
Etymology 1
From Arabic إن (ʔin).
Conjunction
إن • (ʔin)
- if (followed by a past tense verb)
- Synonyms: إذا (ʔiza), إنكنّـ (ʔin-kann-)
إن جيت بكرة، جيبلي معك جاكيت.- ʔin jīt bukra jīb-li maʕak jākēt
- If you come tomorrow, bring me a jacket.
- (literally, “If you come tomorrow, bring for me a jacket with you.”)
Usage notes
- إن (ʔin) is always followed by a verb in the past tense, even if referring to an action in the future.
See also
- لو (law, “if (hypothetical)”), لونـ (lawenn-, “if (hypothetical)”)
Etymology 2
From Arabic أَنَّ (ʔanna).
Pronunciation
See إنّه (ʔinno).
Conjunction
إنّـ • (ʔinn-)
- that (followed by a suffix pronoun)
- Invariable form: إنّه (ʔinno)
Usage notes
- This preposition can be either used invariable in the form إنّه (ʔinno) or with an attached suffix pronoun.
- The suffix pronoun agrees with the subject of the subordinate clause.
Inflection
Inflected forms of إن
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Base form
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إنّـ (ʔinn-)
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Personal-pronoun- including forms
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singular
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plural
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m
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f
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1st person
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إنّي (ʔinni)
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إنّا (ʔinna)
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2nd person
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إنّك (ʔinnak)
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إنّك (ʔinnek)
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إنكم (ʔinkom)
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3rd person
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إنّه (ʔinno)
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إنها (ʔinha)
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إنهم (ʔinhom)
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Derived terms
- لإنّـ (la-ʔinn-, “because”)
- كإنّـ (ka-ʔinn-, “as if”)