Purpose, concession, consequence: likay, raghm ann, lidaalik
Cause and condition you have already linked: li-anna — because, idaa — if. Now close the set with the three remaining bridges. For example: “أعمل لكي أسافر في الصيف” — I work to travel in the summer. A rule from the Arabic course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Cause and condition you have already linked: li-anna — because, idaa — if. Now close the set with the three remaining bridges.
Likay — in order to. After it the verb stands in the present, even if the purpose is in the future: aʿmal likay asaafira — I work so as to travel. Raghm ann — although: the preposition of concession, raghm, plus the familiar ann. No comma is put before or after — it is all in the intonation.
Lidaalik — therefore: it introduces the second half after the comma and looks not back but forward. Sort the pairs out: "li-anna" answers "why", "lidaalik" answers "what came of it". The "because" in the middle of a phrase is always "li-anna", never the reverse. "Lidaalik" does not stand first in a subordinate clause.
Table
| sense | word | what follows |
|---|---|---|
| cause | لأن — li-anna | a sentence: li-anna ʿindii ʿamal |
| purpose | لكي — likay | a present verb: likay asaafira |
| concession | رغم أن — raghm anna | a sentence: raghm ann at-tarii q baʿiid |
| consequence | لذلك — lidaalik | the second half after the comma |
| when | عندما — ʿindamaa | ʿindamaa yasil al-manduub |
| contrast | بالمقابل — bil-muqaabil | the second half: in return |
By example
- أعمل لكي أسافر في الصيفаʿмаль ликай асаафира фи ас-сайфI work to travel in the summer
- رغم أن السعر كبير, اشترينا الكرسيрагма анн ас-сиʿр кябиир, иштарайна аль-курсийAlthough the price is big, we bought the armchair
- تعبان, لذلك نام الآنтаʿбаан, лизаалик наама аль-аанTired; therefore he fell asleep now
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
How to say in order to in Arabic?
Likay — in order to. After it the verb stands in the present, even if the purpose is in the future: aʿmal likay asaafira — I work so as to travel. Raghm ann — although: the preposition of concession, raghm, plus the familiar ann. No comma is put before or after — it is all in the intonation.
How to say although in Arabic?
Likay — in order to. After it the verb stands in the present, even if the purpose is in the future: aʿmal likay asaafira — I work so as to travel. Raghm ann — although: the preposition of concession, raghm, plus the familiar ann. No comma is put before or after — it is all in the intonation.
Lidaalika vs li-anna in Arabic?
Lidaalik — therefore: it introduces the second half after the comma and looks not back but forward. Sort the pairs out: "li-anna" answers "why", "lidaalik" answers "what came of it". The "because" in the middle of a phrase is always "li-anna", never the reverse. "Lidaalik" does not stand first in a…
Purpose clauses in Arabic?
Likay — in order to. After it the verb stands in the present, even if the purpose is in the future: aʿmal likay asaafira — I work so as to travel. Raghm ann — although: the preposition of concession, raghm, plus the familiar ann. No comma is put before or after — it is all in the intonation.
What does it look like in a Arabic example sentence?
“أعمل لكي أسافر في الصيف” (аʿмаль ликай асаафира фи ас-сайф) — I work to travel in the summer. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.