لك
laka
The Arabic word for "your" is لك (laka).
The word لك is a determiner used to indicate that something belongs to a single person.
Meaning: belonging to you (singular, one owner) (det)
What does it mean word for word?
The word لك is composed of the preposition لـ (meaning "to" or "for") and the suffix -كَ (meaning "you", masculine singular).
How does it change in a sentence?
To address a female instead of a male, the vowel on the final consonant changes from a to i, resulting in laki (لكِ).
How do you pronounce it?
laka
Did you know?
- Arabic has distinct forms for 'your' when addressing two people specifically, a 'dual' form that is entirely different from the singular لك or the plural.
- In formal Arabic, the possessive suffix for 'your' changes if the person being addressed is a group of women versus a mixed-gender group.
- The pronoun suffix used in لك is an example of a 'clitic', a word that cannot stand alone and must 'lean' on another word to be pronounced.
Examples in context
- هل تلك الأشياء لك؟Are these your things?This sentence is useful for asking if certain things belong to you using لك.Tatoeba #616624 by saeb, translation #442733 by CK
- أهذا أول امتحان لك؟Is this your first examination?This sentence is useful for asking if an examination is the first one for you using لك.Tatoeba #4459165 by Safa_Alfulaij, translation #4193790 by tinowls
- اعتبر زيري مرآة لك.Think of Ziri as your mirror.This sentence is useful for giving advice to consider something as a mirror for you using لك.Tatoeba #11772793 by dididodo, translation #11276137 by Amastan
- أين كتابُكَ؟Where is your book? (to a male)
- أين مفتاحُكِ؟Where is your key? (to a female)
- هل هذه هداياكُم؟Are these your gifts? (to a group)
- شو أخبارَك؟How are you? (to a male)
- شو أمورَكِ؟How are you? (to a female)
- هذا هاتفُكَ الجديد.This is your new phone. (to a male)
- 38 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Ahmed and Maryam are looking at a book on the table.
- أحمد Ahmedهل هذا الكتاب لكِ؟Hal hadha al-kitab laki?Is this book yours?
- مريم Maryamلا، ليس لكِ، بل هو لمريم.La, laysa laki, bal huwa li-Maryam.No, it is not yours, it belongs to Maryam.
- أحمد Ahmedعذراً، ظننته لكِ.Udhran, dhanantuhu laki.Sorry, I thought it was yours.
- مريم Maryamلا بأس، شكراً لك يا أحمد.La ba's, shukran laka ya Ahmed.No problem, thank you, Ahmed.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
