Keywords are predefined, reserved identifiers that have special meanings to the compiler. They can't be used as identifiers in your program unless they include@ as a prefix. For example,@if is a valid identifier, butif isn't becauseif is a keyword.

The first table in this article lists keywords that are reserved identifiers in any part of a C# program. The second table in this article lists the contextual keywords in C#. Contextual keywords have special meaning only in a limited program context and can be used as identifiers outside that context. Generally, as new keywords are added to the C# language, they're added as contextual keywords in order to avoid breaking programs written in earlier versions.

Contextual keywords

A contextual keyword is used to provide a specific meaning in the code, but it isn't a reserved word in C#. Some contextual keywords, such aspartial andwhere, have special meanings in two or more contexts.