diff --git a/kitty/key_encoding.py b/kitty/key_encoding.py
index 95f2ef545..02f1d38c7 100644
--- a/kitty/key_encoding.py
+++ b/kitty/key_encoding.py
@@ -239,6 +239,10 @@ def matches_text(self, text: str, case_sensitive: bool = False) -> bool:
             return self.text == text
         return self.text.lower() == text.lower()
 
+    @property
+    def is_release(self) -> bool:
+        return self.type is EventType.RELEASE
+
     @property
     def mods_without_locks(self) -> int:
         return self.mods & ~(NUM_LOCK | CAPS_LOCK)