كَفَى sufficient in Arabic
كَفَى is how you say “sufficient” in Arabic.
Root ك ف ي k-f-y. verb (form I). kafā.
Arabic
English
The audio uses AI voices.
Meaning of sufficient in Arabic
- to suffice, be enough, satisfy a need the basic sense; it/he stood in place of another thing
- to serve as, count as e.g. kafānī shahīdan, "he sufficed me as a witness"
- to ward off, spare someone from e.g. kafāhu ash-sharra, "he warded evil off from him"
Example sentence
كفى بك عزّا أَنَّك لَهُ عبد،
Sufficient for you as honor that you are His servant,
كَفَى sufficient
kafa = 'it suffices, is enough', past-tense 'he/it' form.
The English is machine-translated.
Practise this word in the app
One tap gives you the meaning, a grammar note and audio.
Add the words you don’t know. Practise them with spaced repetition.
Free. No ads. No subscription.
An account is needed in the app.
How it is used
Sometimes takes a redundant بِ before its subject, as in the classical construction كَفَى بِاللهِ ("God suffices"); can also govern an accusative of specification, as in كَفَانِي شَهِيدًا ("he sufficed me as a witness").
Words from the same root
- اِكْتَفَى to be content, satisfied with something
- كِفَايَةٌ a sufficiency, enough to meet a need
- أَكْفَى more sufficing, more satisfying
More example sentences
وكفى بك فخرا أَنه لَك رب
And sufficient for you as pride that He is your Lord.
وَكَفَى and sufficient
wa- = 'and'; kafa = 'it suffices, is enough', past-tense 'he/it' form.
وَكَفَى بِهَذِهِ الأَوْصَافِ فَضِيلَةً
And these descriptions are enough to show its virtue.
وَكَفَى and it suffices
'wa-' = 'and'; past-tense verb, subject built in.
وَكَفَى بِهَذَا الْقَدْرِ مَدْحًا لِلْعَقْلِ وَذَمًّا لِلْهَوَى
This alone is sufficient to praise reason and criticize desire.
وَكَفَى and sufficient
A past-tense verb 'it suffices', subject built in; what follows in a bi- phrase is what is being called enough. Arabic says 'X is enough' with this verb plus a bi- tag, not with an adjective.
أجل فكرك في أركانك وتدبر بناء بنانك ويكفي في العبر نطق لسانك كلما تلوى،
Reflect on your own limbs and consider the construction of your fingertips; it is enough as a lesson that your tongue speaks whenever it turns.
وَيَكْفِي and it suffices
The attached connector starts a new statement, and the verb is present-tense with a built-in 'it' subject, meaning 'and it suffices'. The ongoing form presents the sufficiency as a standing truth, with its real subject named later in the clause.
ولا قوة إلا بالله فاقرأ كتابك كفى بنفسك عليك حسيبا ،
And there is no power except with God, so read your book; sufficient are you as a reckoner against yourself,
كَفَى sufficient
This is a past-tense verb, 'it suffices, it is enough', used here in a fixed 'enough is...' construction. It pairs with a following bi- phrase that supplies its real subject, a quirk where 'enough' takes its subject through the preposition rather than directly.
Common questions
- How do you say "sufficient" in Arabic?
- The verb كَفَى (kafā), literally "it sufficed," expresses this — used like "that suffices" or "X is enough."
- What does اِكْتَفَى mean?
- From the same root, it means "to be satisfied or content with something," i.e. to regard it as enough.
Related words
Definitions summarised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).