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# ken

noun (ken, uncountable, in «beyond my ken»); verb (Scottish, Northern English: ken, kens, kent or kenned, kenning); also a name (Ken)

«ken» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (Scotland, Northern England) To ken means to know: «I dinnae ken» = I don't know. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/ken/#m1)
2. (formal, old) Your ken is what you know or understand: «Rocket science is beyond my ken». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/ken/#m2)
3. Ken is a boy's name, short for Kenneth (a name). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/ken/#m3)
4. (Scotland, informal) «Ken» at the end of a sentence means «you know»: «It was brilliant, ken.» [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/ken/#m4)

### In the lessons

In Scottish stories and poems (like those of Robert Burns) and in Scottish everyday talk, «ken» is very common. In English lessons it shows how dialects keep old words: «ken» is related to «know» and «can». The phrase «beyond my ken» is used in books to say something is outside what a person knows. Phrases: «I dinnae ken», «d'ye ken?», «beyond one's ken».

### Examples

- «Dae ye ken where the station is?» asked the old Scottish man. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/ken/#x1)
- I dinnae ken what you mean. (Scotland) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/ken/#x2)
- It was a great game, ken? [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/ken/#x3)
- How the universe began is beyond my ken. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/ken/#x4)
- Ken is my uncle's name. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/ken/#x5)
- «Aye, I ken him fine,» said Granny, meaning she knew him well. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/ken/#x6)
- And they were married, and he and she are living happy till this day, for aught I ken.(1) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/ken/#x7)

### Note

Scottish and old/literary; in standard school writing use «know». Past form «kent» (Scotland) or «kenned». Capital K for the name. Trap: «ken» is not short for «can».

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «ken» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/ken/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«ken» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/ken.html) on Mova free.