إن

See also: ان, آن, أن, اَنْ, -ان, and ان-

Arabic

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-West Semitic *him, from Proto-Semitic *šim.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔin/

Conjunction

إِن • (ʔin)

1. (conditional) if (possible, not contrary to fact)

   إِنْ تَدْرُسْ تَنْجَحْ

   ʔin tadrus tanjaḥ

   If you study you (will) succeed.

   إِنْ لَا تَدْرُسْ لَا تَنْجَحْ

   ʔin lā tadrus lā tanjaḥ

   If you do not study you (will) not succeed.

   اَلْمَرْءُ مَقْتُولٌ بِمَا قَتَلَ بِهِ: إِنْ سَيْفًا فَسَيْفٌ، وَإِنْ خِنْجَرًا فَخِنْجَرٌ.

   al-marʔu maqtūlun bimā qatala bihi: ʔin sayfan fasayfun, waʔin ḵinjaran faḵinjarun.

   A person is killed by what they are killed with, whether it's a sword, it's a sword, and if it's a dagger, it's a dagger.

   اَلنَّاسُ مَجْزِيُّونَ بِأَعَمَالِهِمْ: إِنْ خَيْرًا فَخَيْرٌ، وَإنْ شَرًّا فَشَرٌّ.

   an-nāsu majziyyūna biʔaʕamālihim: ʔin ḵayran faḵayrun, waʔin šarran fašarrun.

   People are rewarded for their deeds, if it's good, it's good, and if it's evil, it's evil.

   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 2:111:

     هَاتُوا بُرْهَانَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ

     hātū burhānakum ʔin kuntum ṣādiqīna

     Give your proof, if you are truthful.

Usage notes

Normally for conditions that are capable of being fulfilled. For contrary-to-fact conditions, use لَوْ (law). Used with the past tense or the jussive, in both cases with a present-tense meaning.

Synonyms

• إِذْمَا (ʔiḏmā)

Derived terms

• إِمَّا (ʔimmā)

Etymology 2

Cognate to Hebrew הִנֵּה (“lo, behold”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔin.na/

Particle

إِنَّ • (ʔinna)

1. indeed, an emphasizing sentence particle, usually untranslated

   إِنِّي فَقِيرٌ وَلَا أَجِدُ طَعَامًا أُطْعِمُ أَوْلَادِي وَعَائِلَتِي، فَسَاعِدْنِي.

   ʔinnī faqīrun wa-lā ʔajidu ṭaʕāman ʔuṭʕimu ʔawlādī wa-ʕāʔilatī, fa-sāʕidnī.

   Indeed, I am poor and can't find food to feed my children and my family, so please help me.

Usage notes

• The subject of a clause containing إِنَّ (ʔinna) takes the accusative case, personal pronouns take enclitic forms.
• When إِنَّ (ʔinna) is followed by the first person singular enclitic ـِي (-ī, “my, me”), it produces forms إِنِّي (ʔinnī) or إِنَّنِي (ʔinnanī). When it is followed by the first person plural enclitic نَا (nā, “our, us”), it produces forms إِنَّا (ʔinnā) or إِنَّنَا (ʔinnanā).

Inflection

Inflected forms
Base form					إِنَّ (ʔinna)
Personal-pronoun- including forms	Singular		Dual	Plural
	Masculine	Feminine	Common	Masculine	Feminine
First person	إِنِّي / إِنَّنِي (ʔinnī / ʔinnanī)		إِنَّنَا / إِنَّا (ʔinnanā / ʔinnā)
Second person	إِنَّكَ (ʔinnaka)	إِنَّكِ (ʔinnaki)	إِنَّكُمَا (ʔinnakumā)	إِنَّكُمْ (ʔinnakum)	إِنَّكُنَّ (ʔinnakunna)
Third person	إِنَّهُ (ʔinnahu)	إِنَّهَا (ʔinnahā)	إِنَّهُمَا (ʔinnahumā)	إِنَّهُمْ (ʔinnahum)	إِنَّهُنَّ (ʔinnahunna)

Derived terms

• إِنَّمَا (ʔinnamā)

See also

• (ʾinna and her sisters) إِنَّ وَأَخَوَاتُهَا (ʔinna waʔaḵawātuhā); إِنَّ (ʔinna), أَنَّ (ʔanna), لٰكِنَّ (lākinna), كَأَنَّ (kaʔanna), لِأَنَّ (liʔanna), لٰكِنَّ (lākinna), لَعَلَّ (laʕalla), لَيْتَ (layta), ^{(Category: Sisters of ʾinna)}

Etymology 3

Cognate to Hebrew אין (ein).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔin/

Particle

إِنْ • (ʔin)

1. (archaic) not
   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 67:20:

     إِنِ الْكَافِرُونَ إِلَّا فِي غُرُورٍ

     ʔini al-kāfirūna ʔillā fī ḡurūrin

     the disbelievers are not but in delusion

   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 4:62:

     إِنْ أَرَدْنَا إِلَّا إِحْسَانًا وَتَوْفِيقًا

     ʔin ʔaradnā ʔillā ʔiḥsānan wa-tawfīqan

     we intended nothing but good conduct and accommodation

   • a. 869, Al-Jāḥiẓ, “طرف أهل خراسان”, in البخلاء:

     لَا وَٱللّٰهِ، إِنْ أَهْلَكَ النَّاسَ وَلَا أَقْفَرَ بُيُوتَهُمْ وَلَا تَرَكَ دُورَهُمْ بَلَاقِعَ إِلَّا الْإِيمَانُ بِٱلْخَلَفِ

     lā wal-lāhi, ʔin ʔahlaka n-nāsa walā ʔaqfara buyūtahum walā taraka dūrahum balāqiʕa ʔillā l-ʔīmānu bi-l-ḵalafi

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Synonyms

• مَا (mā)

References

• Lane, Edward William (1863) “إن”, in Arabic-English Lexicon‎^[1], London: Williams & Norgate, page 103 seqq.
• Wehr, Hans (1979) “إن”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, →ISBN, page 37

Egyptian Arabic

Etymology 1

From Arabic إن (ʔin).

Conjunction

إن • (ʔin)

1. if

   إن قلت أه نبقى موافقين

   ʔin ʔult ʔāh nibʔa mwafʔīn

   If you say yes, we're agreed.

   إن كان كويس ولا وحش

   ʔin kān kuwayyis walla wiḥiš

   Whether it be good or bad.

See also

• إذا (ʔiza, “if”), لو (law, “if”)

Etymology 2

From Arabic أَنَّ (ʔanna).

Conjunction

إن • (ʔinn)

1. that

   واضح إنه بيحبك

   wāḍiḥ ʔinnu biyḥibbik

   It's obvious that he loves you.

   بيصرف مال كإنه غني

   biyiṣrif māl ka-ʔinnu ḡani

   He spends money as if he were rich.

South Levantine Arabic

Etymology 1

From Arabic إن (ʔin).

Conjunction

إن • (ʔin)

1. if (followed by a past tense verb)

   Synonyms: إذا (ʔiza), إنكنّـ (ʔin-kann-)

   إن جيت بكرة، جيبلي معك جاكيت.

   ʔin jīt bukra jīb-li maʕak jākēt

   If you come tomorrow, bring me a jacket.

   (literally, “If you come tomorrow, bring for me a jacket with you.”)

Usage notes

• إن (ʔin) is always followed by a verb in the past tense, even if referring to an action in the future.

See also

• لو (law, “if (hypothetical)”), لونـ (lawenn-, “if (hypothetical)”)

Etymology 2

From Arabic أَنَّ (ʔanna).

Pronunciation

See إنّه (ʔinno).

Conjunction

إنّـ • (ʔinn-)

1. that (followed by a suffix pronoun)

   Invariable form: إنّه (ʔinno)

Usage notes

• This preposition can be either used invariable in the form إنّه (ʔinno) or with an attached suffix pronoun.
• The suffix pronoun agrees with the subject of the subordinate clause.

Inflection

Inflected forms of إن
Base form					إنّـ (ʔinn-)
Personal-pronoun- including forms		singular		plural
		m	f
1st person		إنّي (ʔinni)		إنّا (ʔinna)
2nd person		إنّك (ʔinnak)	إنّك (ʔinnek)	إنكم (ʔinkom)
3rd person		إنّه (ʔinno)	إنها (ʔinha)	إنهم (ʔinhom)

Derived terms

• لإنّـ (la-ʔinn-, “because”)
• كإنّـ (ka-ʔinn-, “as if”)