- as nt. subst. what? sotānaṃ kiṃ nivāraṇaṃ what is the obstruction? Snp.1032; kiṃ tava patthanāya what is it about your wish, i.e. what good is your wish? Vv-a.226; kim idaṃ this is what, that is why, therefore, Pv-a.11; often with su in dubitative question: kiṃ sū’ dha vittaṃ purisassa seṭṭhaṃ what then, is the best treasure of man in this world? Snp.181 or with nu: kiṃ nu kho what is it then (in series evañ nu kho, na nu kho, kathaṃ nu kho) Cnd.186
■ Gen kissa of what? Pv.i.9#1; Pv.ii.9#40 (= kīdisassa) and in kissa hetu on the ground of what i.e. why? Snp.1131; Pv.ii.8#1 (= kiṃ nimittaṃ)
■ Instr. kena by what or how is it that: kena ssu nivuto loko Snp.1032
■ Acc. kiṃ: kiṃ kāhasi what will you do? Snp.428; kiṃ āgamma kiṃ ārabbha on what grounds & for what reason? DN.i.13 DN.i.14, etc.; kiṃ nissita to what purpose Snp.1043
■ Loc. kismiṃ in what or what about: kismiṃ vivādo “what is the quarrel about?” DN.i.237; or kimhi, e.g. kimhi sikkhamāno in what instructed? DN.ii.241 (corresponds to ettha = in this). The ṃ of kiṃ in Sandhi is either elided or contracted or undergoes the usual Sandhi changes ki ha = kiṃ ha Kp-a.78, kissa = kiṃ assa Snp.1032; kīdisa (q.v.) = kiṃ disa; kiñci (see below) = kiṃ cid; kiṃ va a little: see kittaka. - as interr. particle, introducing a question = Lat. nonne, Gr. α ̓́ν: kiṃ idāni pi dinne te labheyyuṃ? “Will they receive that which is given now?” Pv-a.22. So as disjunctive particle in comb with udāhu (whether-or): kiṃ-udāhu what (about this… or is it (otherwise), is it so… or is it not so (cp. πότερον η ̓́, Lat. utrum-an): kim imasmiṃ attabhāve pitaraṃ pucchasi udāhu atīte? “do you enquire about your father in this existence, or in a past one? Pv-a.38; kiṃ nakkhattaṃ kīḷissasi udāhu bhatiṃ karissasi “Will you take a holiday or will you work?” Vv-a.63
■ Very often modified and intensified by other exhortative particles: kiṃ aññatra (with abl.) unless (by), except for Snp.206 (see aññatra) kin nu kho why but why, why in the world? DN.ii.131; Ja.ii.159; Dhp-a.ii.91. As kimo in kimo nu why then? Ja.iii.373 Ja.v.479 (= kim eva); kimu Sdhp.137; kim pana = nonne kim pana bhante addasa? “Have you not seen? DN.ii.132; kim pana tvaṃ maññasi what then do you think = do you not think then, that?… Ja.i.171 kim aṅga how much more or less, i.e. far more, or far less Mil.274 as kim aṅga pana why then? MN.iii.181; Mil.23; Vism.233; kin ti how then? DN.ii.74; ki
The corpus record — Pali
kiṁ
Kiṃ
as nt. subst. what? sotānaṃ kiṃ nivāraṇaṃ what is the obstruction? Snp.1032 ; kiṃ tava patthanāya what is it about your wish, i.e. what good is your wish? Vv-a.226 ; kim idaṃ this is what, that is why, therefore, Pv-a.11 ; often with su in dubitative question: kiṃ sū’ dha vittaṃ purisassa seṭṭhaṃ wh
Every figure on this page is a live query of the corpus record.
Where it lives
- Digha Nikaya 240 · 16.67/10k
- Sutta Nipata 32 · 15.87/10k
- Itivuttaka 7 · 6.05/10k
- Dhammapada 3 · 5.71/10k
- Udana 9 · 4.49/10k
What it meant — PTS Pali–English Dictionary
In the wild
- kiṁ Dhammapada 264 (dhp264:4)
- Kiṁ Dhammapada 394 (dhp394:1)
- kiṁ Dhammapada 394 (dhp394:2)
- kiṁ Digha Nikaya 11 (dn11:5.4)
- kiṁ Digha Nikaya 11 (dn11:7.5)
- kiṁ Digha Nikaya 12 (dn12:10.1)
6 of 291 attestations shown.
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Pali text and translations from SuttaCentral (Bilara), dedicated to the public domain (CC0). PTS Pali–English Dictionary entries, public domain.