لكن

Arabic

Etymology

Uncertain. Bravmann proposes an origin in إِلَّا كَانَ (ʔillā kāna, “except that [it/he] were”), but does not provide a convincing explanation for the contraction of the ā or for the suspicious similarity to أَنْ (ʔan) and أَنَّ (ʔanna) in the alternation of the ending.

Etymology 1.1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /laː.kin.na/

Conjunction

لٰكِنَّ • (lākinna)

1. but, however

Usage notes

• لٰكِنَّ (lākinna) functions like إِنَّ (ʔinna) and أَنَّ (ʔanna), shifting the subject of the subordinate clause to the accusative case. The subject of the subordinate clause must immediately follow لٰكِنَّ (lākinna); if it is a pronoun, it must be expressed. Contrast this syntactic function and the following examples with لٰكِنْ (lākin) below.

  لٰكِنَّ الرَّئِيسَ كَانَ أَذْكَى مِمَّا تَوَقَّعَ النَّاس

  lākinna r-raʔīsa kāna ʔaḏkā mimmā tawaqqaʕa n-nās

  but the president was smarter than people expected

  لٰكِنَّهُ كَانَ أَذْكَى مِمَّا تَوَقَّعَ النَّاس

  lākinnahu kāna ʔaḏkā mimmā tawaqqaʕa n-nās

  but he was smarter than people expected

Inflection

Inflected forms

base form					لٰكِنَّ (lākinna)
Personal-pronoun including forms
	singular		dual	plural
	m	f		m	f
1st person	لٰكِنَّنِي (lākinnanī)		لٰكِنَّنَا (lākinnanā)
2nd person	لٰكِنَّكَ (lākinnaka)	لٰكِنَّكِ (lākinnaki)	لٰكِنَّكُمَا (lākinnakumā)	لٰكِنَّكُمْ (lākinnakum)	لٰكِنَّكُنَّ (lākinnakunna)
3rd person	لٰكِنَّهُ (lākinnahu)	لٰكِنَّهَا (lākinnahā)	لٰكِنَّهُمَا (lākinnahumā)	لٰكِنَّهُمْ (lākinnahum)	لٰكِنَّهُنَّ (lākinnahunna)

See also

• (ʔinna and her sisters) إِنَّ وَأَخَوَاتُهَا (ʔinna wa-ʔaḵawātuhā); إِنَّ (ʔinna), أَنَّ (ʔanna), لٰكِنَّ (lākinna), كَأَنَّ (kaʔanna), لِأَنَّ (liʔanna), لٰكِنَّ (lākinna), لَعَلَّ (laʕalla), لَيْتَ (layta), ^{(Category: Sisters of ʾinna)}

Etymology 1.2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /laː.kin/

Conjunction

لٰكِنْ • (lākin)

1. but, however
2. but, rather

   Synonym: بَلْ (bal)

   لَمْ يُسَافِرِ الطُّلَابُ لٰكِنْ وَكِيلُهُمْ

   lam yusāfiri ṭ-ṭulābu lākin wakīluhum

   The students didn’t travel but their principal did.

3. but not, after an affirmative.

Usage notes

• لٰكِنْ (lākin) acts as a simple conjunction, with the subject of the subordinate clause in the nominative; the subject may follow immediately or be delayed. If it is a pronoun, it may be omitted. Contrast this syntactic function and the following examples with لٰكِنَّ (lākinna) above.

  لٰكِنِ الرَّئِيسُ كَانَ أَذْكَى مِمَّا تَوَقَّعَ النَّاس

  lākini r-raʔīsu kāna ʔaḏkā mimmā tawaqqaʕa n-nās

  but the president was smarter than people expected

  لٰكِنْ (هُوَ) كَانَ أَذْكَى مِمَّا تَوَقَّعَ النَّاس

  lākin (huwa) kāna ʔaḏkā mimmā tawaqqaʕa n-nās

  but he was smarter than people expected

• لٰكِنْ (lākin) is often preceded by وَـ (wa-, “and”). However, such precedence is forbidden if you just use it as a conjunction for a quick correction of an item (not a sentence) after negation or prohibition:
  مَا شَرِبْتُ قَهْوَةً لٰكِنْ شَايًا

  mā šaribtu qahwatan lākin šāyan

  I haven't drunk coffee but tea

Derived terms

• وَلٰكِن (wa-lākin)

Descendants

• South Levantine Arabic: لاكن (lāken)
• → Classical Persian: لیکِن (lēkin), لَٰکِن (lākin), لَاکِن (lākin)
  • → Bengali: লেকিন (lekin)
  • → Chagatai: لیکن (lykn /⁠lekin⁠/)
    • Uyghur: لېكىن (lëkin)
    • Uzbek:

      Latin script: lekin

      Afghan Uzbek: لېکِن (lekin)

  • → Hindustani:

    Hindi: लेकिन (lekin)

    Urdu: لیکِن (lekin)

  • → Kurdish:

    Central Kurdish: لێکن (lêkin)

    Northern Kurdish: lêkin, lê

  • → Pashto: لېکن (leken), ليکن (layken)
  • → Punjabi:

    Gurmukhi script: ਲੇਕਿਨ (lekin), ਲੇਕਨ (lekan)

    Shahmukhi script: لیکن (lekin, lekan)

• → Swahili: lakini
• → Ottoman Turkish: لكن (lakin)
  • Turkish: lakin

Etymology 2

Noun

لَكَن • (lakan) m (plural لُكُون (lukūn) or أَلْكَان (ʔalkān))

1. alternative form of لَقَن (laqan, “basin, bowl”)

Declension

Declension of noun لَكَن (lakan)

singular	basic singular triptote
	indefinite	definite	construct
informal	لَكَن lakan	اللَّكَن al-lakan	لَكَن lakan
nominative	لَكَنٌ lakanun	اللَّكَنُ al-lakanu	لَكَنُ lakanu
accusative	لَكَنًا lakanan	اللَّكَنَ al-lakana	لَكَنَ lakana
genitive	لَكَنٍ lakanin	اللَّكَنِ al-lakani	لَكَنِ lakani
dual	indefinite	definite	construct
informal	لَكَنَيْن lakanayn	اللَّكَنَيْن al-lakanayn	لَكَنَيْ lakanay
nominative	لَكَنَانِ lakanāni	اللَّكَنَانِ al-lakanāni	لَكَنَا lakanā
accusative	لَكَنَيْنِ lakanayni	اللَّكَنَيْنِ al-lakanayni	لَكَنَيْ lakanay
genitive	لَكَنَيْنِ lakanayni	اللَّكَنَيْنِ al-lakanayni	لَكَنَيْ lakanay
plural	basic broken plural triptote
	indefinite	definite	construct
informal	لُكُون‎; أَلْكَان lukūn‎; ʔalkān	اللُّكُون‎; الْأَلْكَان al-lukūn‎; al-ʔalkān	لُكُون‎; أَلْكَان lukūn‎; ʔalkān
nominative	لُكُونٌ‎; أَلْكَانٌ lukūnun‎; ʔalkānun	اللُّكُونُ‎; الْأَلْكَانُ al-lukūnu‎; al-ʔalkānu	لُكُونُ‎; أَلْكَانُ lukūnu‎; ʔalkānu
accusative	لُكُونًا‎; أَلْكَانًا lukūnan‎; ʔalkānan	اللُّكُونَ‎; الْأَلْكَانَ al-lukūna‎; al-ʔalkāna	لُكُونَ‎; أَلْكَانَ lukūna‎; ʔalkāna
genitive	لُكُونٍ‎; أَلْكَانٍ lukūnin‎; ʔalkānin	اللُّكُونِ‎; الْأَلْكَانِ al-lukūni‎; al-ʔalkāni	لُكُونِ‎; أَلْكَانِ lukūni‎; ʔalkāni

North Levantine Arabic

Etymology 1

Seemingly formed natively from لَـ (la-, jussive) +‎ كَان (kān, “to be; it was”), literally “then it would be; then it would have been”, analogously to South Levantine Arabic لَعَاد (laʕād, “then”), North Lebanese لَقُم (laʔum, “perhaps”), and Standard Arabic لَعَلَّ (laʕalla, “hopefully; so that”). This would seem to require the term's similarity to apparent Semitic cognates like Hebrew לכן (lakhén, “therefore”) to be a coincidence, i.e. a case of independent redevelopment.

Semantically either a reflex or doublet of لَكَان (lakān, “obviously; definitely; for sure”, interjection), i.e. either the adverb below developed out of the interjection or both are their own separate semantic developments of لَـ (la-, jussive) +‎ كَان (kān, “to be; it was”).

Several variants exist. Assuming لَكَان (lakān) is original, لَكَن (lakan) results from stress shifting to the first syllable, as in *لَكَان (*lákān), and the now-unstressed ā contracting accordingly. This process occurred identically in خَلَص (ḵalaṣ, “enough”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈla.kan/

Adverb

لَكَن • (lakan)

1. then (as in if... then)

Interjection

لَكَن • (transliteration needed)

1. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) alternative form of لَكَان (lakān, “obviously; definitely; for sure”)

   Synonyms: أَكِيد (ʔakīd), أَكِيدِة (ʔakīde), مَعْلُوم (maʕlūm)

Alternative forms

• لَاكِن (lākin)
• لَكَا (laka) (Zrarieh)
• لَكَان (lakān)
• لَكِانَا (lakēna)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Persian لگن (lagan).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈla.kan/

Noun

لَكَن • (lakan) m (plural لْكُونِة (lkūne))

1. large copper bowl used for laundry or other household tasks; washbasin

   Alternative form: لَگَن (lagan)

   • 1967, “يلّا تنام (yalla tnām) [Go on, let her sleep]”, Rahbani brothers (lyrics), Rahbani brothers (music), performed by Fairuz:

     دِسْتِكْ لَكَنِكْ عَيّْرِينَا
     تَنغسِّل تياب ريما
     وننشرهن عالياسمينة

     distik lakanik ʕayyrīna
     tanḡassil tyāb rīma
     w ninširhun ʕa l-yāsmīne

     Lend us your cauldron and your washbasin
     So we can wash Rima's clothes
     And hang them on the jasmine bush to dry

Etymology 3

Inherited from Arabic لٰكِن (lākin) and later largely displaced by بَسّ (bass).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /laːkin/, (regional, Lebanon) /leːkin/

Conjunction

لٰكِن • (lākin)

1. alternative spelling of لَاكِن (lākin, “but”)

Ottoman Turkish

لكن

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Persian لگن (lagan, “washbasin”), ultimately from Ancient Greek λεκᾰ́νη (lekắnē, “pot, basin”).

Noun

لكن • (leğen) (definite accusative لكنی (leğeni), plural لكنلر (leğenler))

1. washbowl, washbasin, a bowl or basin used for washing the hands and face

Derived terms

• آبدست لكنی (abdest leğeni, “basin for ritual ablutions”)
• ال لكنی (el leğeni, “smallish washbasin”)
• بربر لكنی (berber leğeni, “basin used by barbers”)
• بورون لكنی (burun leğeni, “small basin for inhaling washes into the nostrils”)
• غاشیه لكنی (gaşiya leğeni, “large metal boss in the middle of a breast-band”)
• لكن ابریق (leğen ibrik, “basin and ewer”)
• لكنچه (leğençe, “small washbowl”)
• چاماشیر لكنی (çamaşır leğeni, “washtub”)

Descendants

• Gagauz: leen
• Turkish: leğen, leğın, lehen, len, lan
• → Albanian: legen
• → Armenian: լէհէն (lēhēn), լէյէն (lēyēn), լէկէն (lēkēn)
• → Aromanian: liyeni, liyene, lieni, liene, liyen, lãyin, lãyini, lãyine, lãghin, lãghini, lãghine, ileni, ilene
• → Bulgarian: леге́н (legén), лее́н (leén), лие́н (lién), леи́н (leín), лии́н (liín), лехи́н (lehín)
• → Macedonian: леѓен (leǵen)
• → Romanian: lighean
• → Serbo-Croatian: lèđen / лѐђен

Further reading

click to expand

• Barbier de Meynard, Charles (1886), “لكن”, in Dictionnaire turc-français, volume II, Paris: E. Leroux, page 704
• Bozok, Emrah (2018), Türkçenin söz varlığında temizlik kavram alanı‎^[1] (in Turkish), Samsun: Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi · Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü · Türk dili ve edebiyatı anabilimdalı, page 68
• Çağbayır, Yaşar (2007), “leğen”, in Ötüken Türkçe Sözlük (in Turkish), volume 1, Istanbul: Ötüken Neşriyat, page 2950
• Hindoglu, Artin (1838), “لكن”, in Hazine-i lûgat ou dictionnaire abrégé turc-français‎^[2], Vienna: F. Beck, page 412a
• Kélékian, Diran (1911), “لكن”, in Dictionnaire turc-français‎^[3] (in French), Constantinople: Mihran, page 1081
• Meninski, Franciszek à Mesgnien (1687), “Pelvis”, in Complementum thesauri linguarum orientalium, seu onomasticum latino-turcico-arabico-persicum, simul idem index verborum lexici turcico-arabico-persici, quod latinâ, germanicâ, aliarumque linguarum adjectâ nomenclatione nuper in lucem editum‎^[4], Vienna, column 1262
• Meninski, Franciszek à Mesgnien (1680), “لكن”, in Thesaurus linguarum orientalium, Turcicae, Arabicae, Persicae, praecipuas earum opes à Turcis peculiariter usurpatas continens, nimirum Lexicon Turkico-Arabico-Persicum‎^[5], Vienna, column 4194
• Meyer, Gustav (1893), “Türkische Studien. I. Die griechischen und romanischen Bestandtheile im Wortschatze des Osmanisch-Türkischen”, in Sitzungsberichte der philosophisch-historischen Classe der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften (in German), volume 128, Wien: In Commission bei F. Tempsky, page 50
• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–), “leğen”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
• Redhouse, James W. (1890), “لكن”, in A Turkish and English Lexicon‎^[6], Constantinople: A. H. Boyajian, page 1639

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

لكن • (leken) (definite accusative لكنی (lekeni), plural لكنلر (lekenler))

1. snowshoe made of knitted fabric, worn to prevent the feet from sinking while walking in deep snow

Descendants

• Turkish: leken

Further reading

click to expand

• Barbier de Meynard, Charles (1886), “لكن”, in Dictionnaire turc-français, volume II, Paris: E. Leroux, page 704
• Çağbayır, Yaşar (2007), “leken1”, in Ötüken Türkçe Sözlük (in Turkish), volume 1, Istanbul: Ötüken Neşriyat, page 2953
• Redhouse, James W. (1890), “لكن”, in A Turkish and English Lexicon‎^[7], Constantinople: A. H. Boyajian, page 1639

South Levantine Arabic

Conjunction

لكن • (lāken)

1. alternative spelling of لاكن (lāken, “but, however”)