Arabic vocabulary
كَيْفَhow
How to say “how” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
Example sentences
وَمُوَافَقَةُ الْمَحْبُوبِ فِي الْمَكْرُوهِ مَحْبُوبَةٌ فَكَيْفَ إِذا دَعَا إِلَى مَحْبُوب
And agreeing with the beloved even in what is disliked is beloved, so how much more when it calls to something beloved?
فَكَيْفَ — so how about. fa- = 'so, then'; kayfa = 'how' — together 'so how (much more)…', a rhetorical question.
From: Resisting Temptation →لقيني أبو بكر رضي الله عنه فقال كيف أنت يا حنظلة؟
Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, met me and said: 'How are you, Hanzala?'
كَيْفَ — how. This is the question-word 'how', asking after someone's state or manner — 'how [are you]?'. Arabic poses the question with this one adverb; no verb 'are' is needed.
From: Devotion and Daily Life →فيقول كيف لو رأوني؟
He says: How would it be if they saw Me?!
كَيْفَ — How. The question-word 'how', here marvelling rather than truly asking — 'how [would it be]...?'. It opens a rhetorical exclamation about what their state would be if they actually saw.
From: Where Angels Gather →فَكَيْفَ يَلِيقُ بِأَحْكَمِ الْحَاكِمِينَ وَأَرْحَمِ الرَّاحِمِينَ وَأَقْدَرِ الْقَادِرِينَ أَنْ يُقِرَّهُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ؟
How then can it befit the Most Wise of the wise, the Most Merciful of the merciful, and the Most Powerful of the powerful to approve him in that?
فَكَيْفَ — how then. This couples the connector fa- with 'how', launching a rhetorical question that expects the answer 'it cannot'. The fa- ties it to the preceding argument; 'how' here is not a real request for a method but a way of denying the possibility.
From: Proof of the True Messenger →بَلْ كَيْفَ يَلِيقُ بِهِ أَنْ يُؤَيِّدَهُ وَيَنْصُرَهُ وَيُعْلِيَهُ وَيُظْهِرَهُ وَيُظْفِرَهُ بِأَهْلِ الْحَقِّ يَسْفِكُ دِمَاءَهُمْ وَيَسْتَبِيحُ أَمْوَالَهُمْ وَأَوْلَادَهُمْ وَنِسَاءَهُمْ قَائِلًا
Rather, how can it befit Him to support, aid, exalt, manifest, and empower him over the people of truth while he sheds their blood, justifying their wealth, children, and women, claiming:
كَيْفَ — how. This is the question word 'how', here launching another rhetorical question expecting 'it could not'. It is not seeking a method but denying the possibility, intensified by the 'rather' before it.
From: Proof of the True Messenger →بَلْ كَيْفَ يَلِيقُ بِهِ أَنْ يُصَدِّقَهُ بِأَنْوَاعِ التَّصْدِيقِ كُلِّهَا فَيُصَدِّقَهُ بِإِقْرَارِهِ وَبِالْآيَاتِ الْمُسْتَلْزِمَةِ لِصِدْقِهِ الَّتِي دَلَالَتُهَا عَلَى التَّصْدِيقِ كَدَلَالَةِ التَّصْدِيقِ بِالْقَوْلِ،
Rather, how can it befit Him to endorse him with all types of confirmations, affirming him by acknowledging him with signs that necessitate his truthfulness, whose implications for confirmation are like confirmation by word.
كَيْفَ — how. This is the question word 'how', launching a rhetorical question expecting 'it could not'. It denies the possibility rather than asking for a way, intensified by the 'rather' before it.
From: Proof of the True Messenger →فكيف يليق بأحكم الحاكمين وأرحم الراحمين وأقدر القادرين أن يقره على ذلك
How can it befit the Wisest of Judges, the Most Merciful of the merciful, the Most Powerful of the powerful, to approve of that?
فَكَيْفَ — How. This opens with 'so' and the question word 'how', used here not to ask for a method but to express that something is impossible, a rhetorical 'how could it'. Arabic uses this fronted question word to challenge the very possibility of what follows.
From: False Prophets →بل كيف يليق به أن يؤيده وينصره ويعليه ويظهره ويظفره بأهل الحق
Rather, how can it befit Him to support him, grant him victory, elevate him, make him prevail, and empower him over the people of truth?
كَيْفَ — how. The question word 'how', used rhetorically to deny possibility, fronted to challenge whether such a thing could ever fit. It opens a chain of impossible-to-fit actions that follow.
From: False Prophets →بل كيف يليق به أن يصدقه بأنواع التصديق كلها
Rather, how can it befit Him to confirm him with all types of affirmation?
كَيْفَ — how. The rhetorical question word 'how', fronted to deny that the action could ever be fitting. It opens another impossible-to-fit scenario.
From: False Prophets →فقال له الوزير كيف حالك؟
The minister said to him: How are you?
كَيْفَ — how. A question-word, 'how', that opens an inquiry about state or manner. It stands at the head of a small verbless question.
From: The Reward of Giving →فتعجب الوزير وقال وكيف اشتريت دارًا في الجنة؟
The minister was amazed and said: How did you buy a house in Paradise?
وَكَيْفَ — and how. This is a question word meaning 'how', and the wa- in front merely strings it onto the speech. As a question word it sits at the very front of its clause, the fixed position Arabic uses for asking, which is how a listener knows a question is coming before hearing the verb.
From: The Reward of Giving →قال وكيف أعطاك؟
The man asked: And how did he give it to you?
وَكَيْفَ — and how. A fronted question word 'how', with wa- merely attaching it. Sitting first in the clause is how Arabic flags that a question of manner is being asked.
From: The Reward of Giving →فقال المشتري وكيف أحمله مقلوبًا؟
The buyer said: How could I carry it upside down?
وَكَيْفَ — and how. A fronted question word 'how', with wa- merely attaching it; standing first in the clause marks it as a question of manner.
From: Heedless Choices →فَكيف لَا يسلم المستعيذ بِاللَّه من الشَّيْطَان وَالْملك يذود عَنهُ بِأَمْر الْملك الديَّان
So how can the one who seeks refuge with Allah not be safe from Satan, while the angel wards him off by the command of the Sovereign, the Just?
فَكَيْفَ — so how. The opening particle links this as a follow-on, and the question word means 'how', here used as a rhetorical challenge rather than a real request for information. It sets up a 'how could it possibly be otherwise' argument.
From: Ten Daily Supplications →فكيف رأيت ماشيهم قد وقع ولم يثر،
So how did you see their livestock — it fell and did not rise,
فَكَيْفَ — so how. The fused front letter gives a 'so/and' link to the previous lines, and the rest is the question-word 'how'. It opens a 'how did...' inquiry, framing the whole clause as a rhetorical question rather than a plain statement.
From: Rain and God's Decree →كَذَبَت عادُ فكيفَ كانَ عَذابِي وَنُذُرِ
'Aad denied, so how was My punishment and My warnings?
فَكَيْفَ — so how. The fused front letter gives a 'so/then' link, and the rest is the question-word 'how'. It opens a rhetorical 'so how was...' that expects awe rather than information, framing the punishment that follows as the point of the question.
From: Rain and God's Decree →حَدِّثْنِي كَيْفَ صَنَعْتُمَا حِينَ سَرَيْتَ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ
Tell me how you two behaved when you set out with the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace.
كَيْفَ — how. A question-word asking about manner, 'how', which opens an embedded question rather than a yes/no one. It sits at the front and frames the whole following clause as the thing being asked about. Arabic keeps such question-words first, with no added helper verb.
From: A Night with the Prophet →فَكَيْفَ يَصِحُّ أَنْ يَكُونَ كَمَا كَانَ؟
So how can it still be as it was?!
فَكَيْفَ — So how. This stacks the connector 'so/then' onto a 'how' question-word, launching a rhetorical question that follows from the prior point. The 'how' challenges the possibility rather than seeking information.
From: Guarding the Heart from Heedlessness →وَلاَ أَقُولُ كَيْفَ تَغَلُّبِ حَلَاوَةٍ اللَّذَّاتِ؟
Nor will I say, "How did the sweetness of pleasures prevail?!"
كَيْفَ — how. A question word ('how') opening the quoted rhetorical question. It is exclamatory here, not a genuine request for a method, expressing astonishment at how the sweetness could have prevailed.
From: Guarding the Heart from Heedlessness →قَالَ وَكَيْفَ بِذَلِكَ؟
He said: And how about that?
وَكَيْفَ — and how. The connector wa- ('and') fused to a question word ('how'). The wa- joins his question to the running dialogue, and 'how' asks after the manner, leading into 'and how about that?'.
From: The Prophet's Marriage to Khadijah →وَكَيْفَ تَنَامُ الْعَيْنُ وَهِيَ قَرِيرَةٌ
And how can the eye sleep while it is steady and watchful?
وَكَيْفَ — and how. Two pieces fuse: wa- ('and') tying this to the prior line, and a question-word 'how'. Together they open a rhetorical question, 'and how...', which expects no answer but expresses astonishment that the eye could rest. The question-word sets the whole clause as a challenge.
From: Vigilance Against Worldly Deception →قَالُوا يَا أَبَتِ كَيْفَ نَحْتَالُ
They said, "O father, how shall we devise a plan?"
كَيْفَ — how. A question-word asking 'in what way', probing manner or method rather than a yes/no answer. It fronts the clause and sets the whole question up as one about how the scheming could be done.
From: Sheba's Garden and Destruction →قَالَ كَيْفَ أَسْتَطِيعُ
He said, "How can I do it?"
كَيْفَ — how. A question word, 'how', asking about the means or manner of doing something. It fronts the clause as an interrogative, expecting an explanation of method. Here it voices the impossibility of the demand.
From: Luqman's Wisdom and Trial →لَوْ أَدْرَكْتَهُ كَيْفَ كُنْتَ تَكُونُ
If you had caught up with him, how would you have behaved?
كَيفَ — how. A question word, 'how', asking about the manner of the imagined outcome. Inside the counterfactual it sets up 'how would you have been', probing the hypothetical result. It fronts the result-clause as an interrogative.
From: A Spy in the Enemy Camp →
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