H3588a H3588a
that; because, for; when; but, rather; if; surely, indeed; though, even though
The most versatile conjunction in Biblical Hebrew, כִּי functions as the Swiss army knife of clause subordination. Its causal sense ('because, for') accounts for the vast majority of its nearly 4,300 occurrences, introducing the reason behind a preceding statement. But כִּי also serves as a complementizer ('that') after verbs of seeing, knowing, and saying — 'God saw that it was good' (Gen 1:4). Beyond these two pillars, it marks temporal clauses ('when'), adversative contrasts ('but, rather'), conditional protases ('if'), emphatic assertions ('surely'), and even concessive acknowledgments ('though'). The Moabite Mesha stele uses the same particle identically, confirming its deep Semitic pedigree.
6. asseverative: surely, indeed — Asseverative particle: 'surely, indeed' — emphatically affirming the truth of what follows. Deuteronomy 30:14 declares 'surely the word is very near you' (Spanish 'ciertamente'). Joshua 2:24 reports 'surely the LORD has given all the land.' 1 Samuel 8:9 instructs Samuel to 'surely warn them.' French 'certainement' and German 'gewiss' capture the emphatic force. This is not subordination but affirmation — כִּי as an oath-like intensifier. 10×
AR["إِنَّ-","بَلْ-","حَقّاً","لِأَنَّ-"]·ben["কারণ-","কি-","কিন্তু-","যে-"]·DE["dass-","fuer-","gewiss","gewiss-"]·EN["for-","surely","surely-","that-"]·FR["certainement","certainement-","pour-","que-"]·heb["כִּי","כי","כי-","כי־"]·HI["कि","क्योंकि","क्योंकि-"]·ID["Melainkan-","Tetapi-","bahwa-","karena-","sesungguhnya","sesungguhnya-"]·IT["certamente","certamente-","che-","per-"]·jav["Ananging","Nanging-","awit-","bilih"]·KO["(접속)-","그","오직-","왜냐하면","이는"]·PT["Pois","não-pois","porque-","que","que-","senão-","¶ Porque-"]·RU["Ибо-","Но","ибо-","но-","только-","что","что-"]·ES["Porque-","ciertamente","que","que-","sino-que"]·SW["Bali","Sulemani","bali-","hakika-","kwa-sababu-"]·TR["Ancak-","ki","ki-","çünkü-"]·urd["بلکہ","بلکہ-","کہ"]
Deut 15:8, Deut 30:14, Josh 2:24, 1 Sam 6:3, 1 Sam 8:9, 1 Sam 10:1, 1 Sam 10:19, 1 Kgs 1:13, 1 Kgs 1:17, 1 Kgs 1:30
▼ 6 more senses below
Senses
1. causal: because, for — Causal conjunction: 'because, for' — introducing the reason or ground for what precedes. This is the dominant sense across nearly 3,500 occurrences. Spanish 'porque,' French 'pour/car,' and German 'denn' all track the causal force. Genesis 3:10 has Adam explaining 'because I was afraid.' Genesis 2:17 warns 'for in the day you eat of it you shall die.' The particle anchors Hebrew's reasoning architecture, linking events to their causes. 3498×
AR["لأنَّ","لِأَنَّ","لِأَنَّ-","لِأَنَّ-هُ","لِأَنَّهَا","لِأَنَّهُ","لِأَنَّهُ-","لِأَنِّي"]·ben["কারণ","কারণ-","কেননা-"]·DE["denn","denn-","fuer","fuer-"]·EN["for","for-"]·FR["pour","pour-"]·heb["כי"]·HI["क्यõकि","क्युनकि","क्योंकि","क्योंकि-"]·ID["Karena","bahwa","karena","sebab"]·IT["per","per-"]·jav["Amargi","amargi","amargi-"]·KO["*","때문이다","왜냐하면","왜냐하면-","이-라고","이-왜냐하면"]·PT["pois","pois-","porque","porque-","que"]·RU["ибо","ибо-"]·ES["porque","porque-","que"]·SW["kwa","kwa-sababu","kwa-sababu-","kwamba"]·TR["ki","Çünkü","çünkü","çünkü-"]·urd["کیونکہ"]
2. declarative: that — Declarative complementizer: 'that' — introducing content clauses after verbs of perception, speech, or knowledge. Genesis 1:4 inaugurates this use: 'God saw that it was good' (Spanish 'que,' French 'ce/que,' German 'dass'). Genesis 12:14 has the Egyptians seeing 'that' the woman was beautiful. This is the second-largest usage, functioning as the syntactic hinge between a mental verb and its object clause. 723×
AR["أَنَّ","أَنَّ-","أَنَّكُمْ","أَنَّهَا","أَنَّهُ","لِأَنَّ","لِأَنَّكَ-","وَ-أَيْضًا-"]·ben["কারণ","কারণ-","কি","যখন","যে","যে-"]·DE["dass","dass-","jenes","jenes-"]·EN["that","that-"]·FR["ce","ce-"]·heb["כי","כי-"]·HI["कि","कि-","क्योंकि-"]·ID["bahwa","bahwa-","sehingga-"]·IT["quello","quello-"]·jav["amargi-","bilih","bilih-"]·KO["*","-을","that","그","때문이다","때문이었다","라고-","왜냐하면","왜냐하면-","이-라고","참으로"]·PT["de-que-","pois","que","que-"]·RU["потому-что-","что","что-"]·ES["que","que-"]·SW["kwa-kuwa","kwa-sababu","kwamba","kwamba-"]·TR["ki","ki-"]·urd["کہ"]
3. temporal: when — Temporal conjunction: 'when' — marking the time at which something occurs. Genesis 6:1 opens with 'when mankind began to multiply.' Genesis 12:12 has Abraham fearing 'when the Egyptians see you.' Spanish 'cuando,' French 'quand,' and German 'als/wenn' confirm the temporal reading. The shift from causal to temporal is natural: the cause that precedes an event and the time at which it occurs share a logical structure. 58×
AR["إِنَّكُمْ-","حينَ","حِينَ-","عِنْدَمَا","عِنْدَمَا-","لَمَّا-"]·ben["কেননা-","যখন","যখন-"]·DE["als","als-","wenn","wenn-"]·EN["when","when-"]·FR["quand","quand-"]·heb["כי","כי-","כי־"]·HI["कि","जब","जब-","यदि-"]·ID["Apabila-","apabila","apabila-","bahwa-","jika","ketika","ketika-"]·IT["quando","quando-"]·jav["Awit-","amargi-","bilih-","manawi-","manàwi","menawi-","nalika","nalika-"]·KO["(when)-","(접속)-","*","때","때-","때-에","때에-","만일","만일-","왜냐하면","이-라고"]·PT["Quando","Quando-","quando","quando-"]·RU["Когда-","если","ибо","когда-"]·ES["Cuando","cuando","cuando-","porque","que-"]·SW["Wakati-","atakapo-","mtakapokuwa-","tulipo-","wakati","wakati-","wakiwa-na","watakapotoka-"]·TR["eğer-","ki","ki-","ne-zaman-ki-"]·urd["جب","جب-","کہ","کہ-جب","کیونکہ-"]
Gen 6:1, Gen 12:12, Gen 43:21, Gen 46:33, Exod 1:10, Exod 12:25, Exod 12:26, Exod 13:5, Exod 13:11, Exod 13:14, Exod 13:15, Exod 18:16 (+38 more)
4. adversative: but, rather — Adversative conjunction: 'but, rather' — marking contrast or correction. Genesis 42:12 has Joseph insisting 'No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land' (Spanish 'sino'). Deuteronomy 5:3 clarifies 'not with our fathers but with us.' 1 Samuel 8:7 reveals 'they have not rejected you but they have rejected me.' Spanish 'sino' and German 'sondern' carry the corrective force precisely. 26×
AR["إِلاَّ-","بَلْ","بَلْ-","كِي-","لكِنَّهُم","لِأَنَّ-","وَالبِرِّ"]·ben["কারণ","কারণ-","কিন্তু","কেন-","বরং","যদি-না-","যে-"]·DE["aber-","denn","sondern"]·EN["and-also","but","but-","except-","for"]·FR["car","mais-"]·heb["כי"]·HI["कि","केवल","क्योंकि","परन्तु","बल्कि","सिवाय"]·ID["karena-","kecuali-","melainkan","melainkan-karena","sebab","tetapi","tetapi-"]·IT["che","ma-","poiche","poiché"]·jav["amargi","amargi-","ananging","ananging-","awit","awit-","kajawi","nanging","nanging-amargi"]·KO["*","그러나","다만","오직","오히려","오히려-","왜냐하면","왜냐하면-","이는"]·PT["Mas","antes","mas","pois","pois-","porque","porque-","senão"]·RU["ибо","ибо-","кроме-как","но","потому-что","только-"]·ES["porque","sino","sino-","sino-que"]·SW["bali","bali-","isipokuwa","juu-ya","kwamba","lakini"]·TR["-dan-başka","ancak","cunku","fakat-","ki","zıra-","Çünkü","çünkü","çünkü-"]·urd["بلکہ","مگر","کہ","کیونکہ","کیونکہ-"]
Gen 42:12, Deut 5:3, Deut 29:15, Judg 15:13, 1 Sam 8:7, 1 Sam 12:12, 1 Kgs 11:22, 2 Chr 16:12, 2 Chr 18:7, 2 Chr 19:6, 2 Chr 20:15, Neh 2:2 (+14 more)
5. conditional: if, when — Conditional conjunction: 'if, when' — introducing contingent clauses, especially in legal casuistic formulations. Exodus 21:2 ('if you buy a Hebrew slave'), 21:33 ('if a man opens a pit'), and 22:1-6 all use כִּי to frame case law. Spanish 'Cuando' and German 'als' reflect the conditional-temporal overlap typical of ancient Near Eastern legal discourse. The line between 'when' (temporal) and 'if' (conditional) blurs deliberately in casuistic style. 10×
AR["إِذا","إِذا-"]·ben["যখন","যখন-"]·DE["als"]·EN["when"]·FR["quand"]·heb["כי","כי-"]·HI["कि-","जब","जब-","यदि","यदि-"]·ID["Jika","Jika-","jika-"]·IT["quando"]·jav["Manawi","manawi"]·KO["그","만일","왜냐하면"]·PT["Quando","Quando-","quando-"]·RU["Если","Если-","если","если-","когда-"]·ES["Cuando","cuando"]·SW["Kwa-sababu","kama","kama-","kwa-sababu"]·TR["ne-zaman-ki","ne-zaman-ki-"]·urd["اگر","اگر-","جب","کہ-"]
7. concessive: though, yet — Concessive conjunction: 'though, even though' — acknowledging a circumstance despite which the main clause holds. Psalm 37:24 promises 'though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down.' Psalm 44:19,22 protest faithfulness despite suffering: 'though you have crushed us' and 'though for your sake we are killed.' The concessive use is rare but theologically charged, appearing in contexts where the psalmist holds two truths in tension — suffering and faithfulness — linked by this single particle. 4×
AR["إِنْ","لأَنَّنا","لكِنْ","لِأنَّ-"]·ben["কারণ-","যদিও","যদিও-"]·DE["denn"]·EN["though","yet"]·FR["car"]·heb["כי","כי-"]·HI["परन्तु","फिर-भी","यदि","यद्यपि"]·IT["poiche'"]·jav["Amargi","Menawi","Nanging","amargi"]·KO["이는"]·PT["Pois","Quando"]·RU["а","ибо","когда","хотя-"]·ES["Aunque","Ciertamente","Cuando","porque-"]·SW["Akianguka","Hakika","Ingawa"]·TR["Çünkü","Çünkü-"]·urd["اگرچہ","کیونکہ"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
I. כִּי conj. that, for, when (Moab. id.: Ph. כ. Prob. from the same demonstr. basis found in ܟܳܐ here, and in certain pronouns, as Aramaic דֵּךְ this (WSG 110 f.); perhaps also ultim. akin with كَىْ that, in order that, and ܟܰܝ then, enclit., like Lat. nam in quisnam?)— 1. that (ὅτι, Germ. dass): a. prefixed to sentences depending on an active verb, and occupying to it the place of an accus.: so…