כן

Aramaic

Adverb

כֵּן • (kēn)

1. thus, so, next
   • Tanach, Ezra 5:3, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:

     בֵּהּ־זִמְנָא אֲתָה עֲלֵיהוֹן תַּתְּנַי פַּחַת עֲבַר־נַהֲרָה וּשְׁתַר בּוֹזְנַי וּכְנָוָתְהוֹן וְכֵן אָמְרִין לְהֹם מַן־שָׂם לְכֹם טְעֵם בַּיְתָא דְנָה לִבְּנֵא וְאֻשַּׁרְנָא דְנָה לְשַׁכְלָלָה׃

     bēh-zimnā ʾăṯā ʿălēhōn tattənay paḥaṯ ʿăḇar-nahărā ūšəṯar bōzənay ūḵənāwāṯəhōn wəḵēn ʾāmərīn ləhōm man-śām ləḵōm ṭəʿēm bayṯā ḏənā libbənē wəʾuššarnā ḏənā ləšaḵlālā.

     At the same time came to them Tattenai, the governor beyond the River, and Shethar-bozenai, and their companions, and said thus unto them: ‘Who gave you a decree to build this house, and to finish this structure?’

2. then, afterwards, soon, shortly

Hebrew

Etymology 1

Root
כ־ו־ן (k-w-n)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ken/
• Homophone: קֵן

Adverb

כֵּן • (kén)

1. yes
2. (archaic) thus, so
   • Tanach, Genesis 29:26, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:

     וַיֹּאמֶר לָבָן לֹא־יֵעָשֶׂה כֵן בִּמְקוֹמֵנוּ לָתֵת הַצְּעִירָה לִפְנֵי הַבְּכִירָה׃

     vayómer laván lo-ye'asé khén bim'koménu latét hats'irá lif'néi hab'khirá.
     wayyṓmer lāḇān lō-yēʿāśe ḵēn biməqōmḗnu lāṯēṯ haṣṣəʿīrā lip̄ənē habbəḵīrā.

     And Laban said: ‘It is not so done in our place, to give the younger before the first-born.[’]

Derived terms

• אף על פי כן (af-al-pi-khen)
• גַּם כֵּן (gam kén)
• וּבְכֵן (uv'khén)
• וְכֵן (v'khén)

Etymology 2

Root
כ־נ־ן (k-n-n)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kan/

Noun

כַּן • (kan) m

1. pedestal, stand

Further reading

• כן on the Hebrew Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^he

References

• “כן” in the Hebrew Terms Database of the Academy of Hebrew Language