که

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See also: گھ and گه

Pashto

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Pronunciation

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Conjunction

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که • (kë)

  1. if
  2. or

References

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Persian

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Etymology 1

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Merger of Middle Persian 𐭠𐭩𐭪 (AYK /⁠kū⁠/, “that”, used for subordination to a main clause) with [Inscriptional Pahlavi needed] (MNW /⁠kē⁠/, “who, which”, used for relative clauses) and [Inscriptional Pahlavi needed] (AMT /⁠ka⁠/, “when; if, since”), all but the latter are ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷís, *kʷós. Cognate with Northern Kurdish ku, Italian che, French que.

Pronunciation

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Readings
Classical reading? kē, kū
Dari reading? kē, kī
Iranian reading? ke
Tajik reading? ki
  • In Classical Persian the vowel may count as long vowel in poetic contexts, mainly for mora counting.
  • Rhymes: -e (In Iran)

Conjunction

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Dari که
Iranian Persian
Tajik ки

که • (ke)

  1. that; subordinates a clause to a main clause
    شنیدم که با فرشته ازدواج کرد.
    šenidam ke bâ ferešte ezdevâj kard.
    I heard that he got married to Fereshteh.
    نمی‌دونستم که پسرشون پشتو بلده. (colloquial Iranian)
    ne-mi-dunestam ke pesar-ešun pašto balad-e.
    I didn't know that their son knows Pashto.
  2. that, which, when, where; attaches a relative clause to a noun phrase
    آن کتابی را که به تو دادم هنوز می‌خوانی؟ (more literary)
    ân ketâbi râ ke be to dâdam hanuz mi-xâni?
    اون کتابی رو که بهت دادم هنوز می‌خونیش؟ (more colloquial)
    un ketâbi ro ke be-het dâdam hanuz mi-xuni-š?
    Are you still reading the book that I gave you?
    آن زنی را که بهرنگ با او ازدواج می‌کند می‌شناسی؟ (more literary)
    ân zani râ ke behrang bâ u ezdevâj mi-konad mi-šenâsi?
    اون زنی رو که بهرنگ باهاش ازدواج می‌کنه می‌شناسیش؟ (more colloquial)
    un zani ro ke behrang bâ-hâš ezdevâj mi-kone mi-šnâsi-š?
    Do you know the woman to whom Behrang is getting married?
    آن شهری که من در آن زندگی می‌کردم بزرگ است. (more literary)
    ân šahri ke man dar ân zendegi mi-kardam bozorg ast.
    اون شهری که من توش زندگی می‌کردم بزرگه. (more colloquial)
    un šahri ke man tu-š zendegi mi-kardam bozorg-e.
    That city where I used to live was big.
  3. to, in order to
    Synonym: تا (tâ)
    بیرون رفته بود که ببیندم.
    birun rafte bud ke bebinad-am.
    He had gone out to see me.
  4. when; see usage notes.
    غذا که خوردم، بیرون رفتم.
    ğazâ ke xordam, birun raftam.
    Having eaten, I went outside.
    من غذا می‌خوردم که شوهرم رسید.
    man ğazâ mi-xordam ke šowhar-am resid.
    I was eating when my husband arrived.
  5. Used after a topic to emphasize, or express surprise or indignation at, information pertaining to it.
    او که برگشت! ― u ke bargašt! ― He did go back!
Usage notes
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که (ke) cannot be used sentence-initially. Colloquially, it is often dropped when joining two clauses (including in the sense of “to; in order to”), but never for relative clauses.

  • (conjunction for relative clauses)

Unlike English, which has whose and which can also end relative clauses with prepositions or displace which to after the preposition, Persian که (ke) is used regardless of the semantic relationship and is also fixed at the beginning of the relative clause. Therefore, if the noun phrase is not the subject or direct object of the relative clause, the relative clause must explicitly mark the semantics to avoid ambiguity:

خانه‌ای که به آن فکر می‌کردند
xâne-'i ke be ân fekr mi-kardand
the house which they were thinking about
(literally, “the house that they were thinking about it”)
زنی که بچه‌اش در قطار به دنیا آمد
zani ke bačče-aš dar qatâr be donyâ âmad
the woman whose child was born in a train
(literally, “the woman that her child was born in a train”)

If the noun phrase is the direct object of the relative clause, marking it with the particle را (râ) within the subordinate clause is possible, although it is not obligatory and sometimes considered incorrect. On the other hand, را (râ) is obligatory if the noun phrase is the direct object of the main clause.

  • (when)

When the subordinate temporal clause is the initial clause, که appears after a natural break, e.g. after the subject or before the clause-final verb.

When the subordinate temporal clause is the subsequent clause, it appears at the beginning of the clause. In such a case, the initial clause must feature a continuous or progressive action which is interrupted by the specific action presented in the subordinate clause.

Descendants
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  • → Azerbaijani: ki
  • → Gujarati: કે (ke)
  • → Hindustani:
    Hindi: कि (ki)
    Urdu: کِہ (ki)
  • → Marathi: की (kī)
  • → Ottoman Turkish: كه (ki)
  • → Punjabi:
    Gurmukhi script: ਕਿ (ki)
    Shahmukhi script: کِہ (kih)
  • Uzbek: ki

Etymology 2

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Metrical variant of کی (ki).

Pronunciation

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Readings
Classical reading? ki
Dari reading? ki
Iranian reading? ke
Tajik reading? ki

Pronoun

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که • (ke)

  1. Literary form of کی (ki, “who”, interrogative pronoun)

Etymology 3

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Metrical variant, used to fit the poetic meter.

Pronunciation

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Readings
Classical reading? kah
Dari reading? kah
Iranian reading? kah
Tajik reading? kah

Noun

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که • (kah)

  1. Poetic and archaic form of کاه (kâh)
Derived terms
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Etymology 4

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From Middle Persian [Inscriptional Pahlavi needed] (ks /⁠keh⁠/).

Pronunciation

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Readings
Classical reading? kih
Dari reading? keh
Iranian reading? keh
Tajik reading? keh

Adjective

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Dari که
Iranian Persian
Tajik кеҳ

که • (keh)

  1. (archaic) small
    Antonym: مه (meh)

Noun

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که • (keh) (plural کهان (kehân))

  1. (archaic) commoner, insignificant person
    Antonym: مه (meh)

Etymology 5

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Metrical variant, used to fit the poetic meter.

Pronunciation

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Readings
Classical reading? kuh
Dari reading? koh
Iranian reading? koh
Tajik reading? küh

Noun

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که • (koh)

  1. Poetic and archaic form of کوه (kuh)
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