Arabic

Pronoun

كِلَا • ‎(kilā) m ‎(feminine كِلْتَا ‎(kiltā))

1. both, each (of two)
   • Qur'an 17:23

     وَقَضَىٰ رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوٓا۟ إِلَّآ إِيَّاهُ وَبِٱلْوَلِدَيْنِ إِحْسَنًا ۚ إِمَّا يَبْلُغَنَّ عِندَكَ ٱلْكِبَرَ أَحَدُهُمَآ أَوْ كِلَاهُمَا فَلَا تَقُل لَّهُمَآ أُفٍّۢ وَلَا تَنْهَرْهُمَا وَقُل لَّهُمَا قَوْلًۭا كَرِيمًۭا‎

     waqaḍā rabbuka ʾallā taʿbudū ʾillā ʾiyyāhu wa-bi-l-walidayni ʾiḥsanan ʾimmā yabluḡanna ʿindaka l-kibara ʾaḥaduhumā ʾaw kilāhumā fa-lā taqul lahumā ʾuffim walā tanharhumā waqul lahumā qawlan karīman

     And your Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him, and to parents, good treatment. Whether one or both of them reach old age [while] with you, say not to them [so much as], "uff," and do not repel them but speak to them a noble word.

   • Qur'an 18:33

     كِلْتَا ٱلْجَنَّتَيْنِ ءَاتَتْ أُكُلَهَا وَلَمْ تَظْلِم مِّنْهُ شَيْـًۭٔا ۚ وَفَجَّرْنَا خِلَلَهُمَا نَهَرًۭا‎

     kiltā l-jannatayni ʾātat ʾukulahā wa-lam taẓlim minhu šayʾan wa-fajjarnā ḵilalahumā naharan

     Each of the two gardens produced its fruit and did not fall short thereof in anything. And We caused to gush forth within them a river.

Declension

Usage notes

• كِلَا ‎(kilā) inflects for gender to match the noun or pronoun it modifies. It only inflects for case when followed by a pronoun; when followed by a noun, it is always in the nominative case regardless of syntax. The following noun or pronoun is always in the genitive dual (an idafa construction). Thus بِكِلْتَا يَدَيْهِ‎ ― bikiltā yadayhi ― "with both his hands" has the nominative form كِلْتَا ‎(kiltā), despite the syntax calling for a genitive, but بِكِلْتَيْهِمَا‎ ― bikiltayhimā ― "with both of them (fem.)" uses the genitive form كِلْتَيْ ‎(kiltay) in the same syntactic context.

Etymology 2

From لَا ‎(lā, “no”). Possible connection with كَ ‎(ka) unclear.

Interjection

كَلَّا • ‎(kallā)

1. no way, never, by no means, absolutely not

   كَلَّا ثُمَّ كَلَّا‎ ― kallā ṯumma kallā ― no and no again, a thousand times no, over my dead body, not on my life, no way in ****