A Comparative Grammar of the Modern Aryan Languages of India v2.c12.s2.83

v2.c12.s2.83

कैसे कें and कैसे करि literally mean "what kind (of work) having done," and thus, too, कितेक would mean किते करि "how many (works) having done." In the form कैएक "some," however, the latter element may be admitted to be एक, and it is often written as two words, especially in modern Urdu کى ایک.