Q: How does the phrase به اندازهی کافی break down to mean "enough"?

Literally, به اندازهی means "to the measure of" or "to the extent of", and کافی means "sufficient". When you want to say something is or isn't "[adjective] enough", you use به اندازهی کافی as an adverbial phrase directly before the adjective. Here, it sits right before شور (salty).

Question 1

Why is که used right after سس here when it usually means "that" or "which"?

Accepted Answer

In this sentence, که isn't acting as a standard relative pronoun linking two clauses. Instead, it is used for topicalization and concession. It highlights سس (sauce) to set up a contrasting statement, similar to saying "As for the sauce, sure it is greasy, but..." or "I'll grant you the sauce is greasy, however..."

Question 2

Could we place که after چرب instead of سس?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and it slightly shifts the exact point of emphasis. Our sentence, سس که چرب است, focuses on the sauce itself. If you wrote سس چرب که است, the concession focuses strictly on the adjective: "Greasy though the sauce may be..." Both are highly natural ways to set up the contrast that follows with اما (but).

Question 3

Could I just drop که entirely and say سس چرب است، اما...?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely. Without که, the sentence becomes a perfectly correct, neutral statement: "The sauce is greasy, but..." Including که is what gives the sentence that distinct, conversational tone of intentionally conceding a point before delivering the counter-point.

Question 4

How does the phrase به اندازه‌ی کافی break down to mean "enough"?

Accepted Answer

Literally, به اندازه‌ی means "to the measure of" or "to the extent of", and کافی means "sufficient". When you want to say something is or isn't "[adjective] enough", you use به اندازه‌ی کافی as an adverbial phrase directly before the adjective. Here, it sits right before شور (salty).

سس که چرب است، اما به اندازه‌ی کافی شور نیست.

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