كَأَنِّيas if I

Example sentences

• قَالَ أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ كَأَنِّي أَنْظُرُ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَمَصُّ إِصْبَعَهُ

  Abu Hurayrah said: I seem to see the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, sucking his finger.

  كَأَنَّنِي — as if I. A 'as though/as if' particle with '-ni' (I) attached, setting up a vivid comparison: it is as if I -- the narrator -- am watching. The particle leans the clause toward a likeness, and the suffix supplies its subject 'I'.

  From: Those Who Spoke in the Cradle →

• وَإِذَا رَأَيْتُ كِتَابًا لَمْ أَرَهُ فَكَأَنِّي وَقَعْتُ عَلَى كَنْزٍ،

  When I saw a book I had not seen before, it was as if I had stumbled upon a treasure.

  فَكَأَنِّي — so as if I. This token bundles fa- ('so/then') with ka'anna ('as if') and the attached 'I'. The fa- introduces the result of the 'whenever' clause, while ka'anna sets up a likeness or simile and braces the following statement. Together they launch the 'it was as though I...' main response.

  From: A Life of Reading and Writing →