لیکن

Pahari-Potwari

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian لیکِن (lēkin), from Arabic لٰكِنْ (lākin).

Conjunction

لیکن (lekin)

1. but

Persian

Alternative forms

• لاکن (lâken)

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic لٰكِنْ (lākin, “but”) (with the long vowel shifted by imāla). Compare Classical Persian ایمِنْ (ēmin) and بَلی (balē), from Arabic آمِنْ (ʔāmin) and بَلَى (balā).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [leː.ˈkin]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [leː.kʰɪ́n]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [leː.kʰɪ́n]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [leː.kʰɪ́n]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [li.kʰín]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [liː.kʰʲǽn], [liː.kʰʲén]

Readings
Classical reading?	lēkin
Dari reading?	lēkin
Iranian reading?	likan, liken

• Audio (Iran):

  (file)

Conjunction

Dari	اما, مگر
Iranian Persian	ولی
Tajik	аммо

لیکن • (likan)

1. (Dari or dated) but, however

   Synonyms: مگر (magar), ولی (vali), اما (ammâ)

   • c. 1911, Mohammad Hossein Âğuli Torki-ye Shirâzi, دیوان ترکی شیرازی‎^[1]:

     عشق در عالم معنی ست نهالی شاداب
     خوش نهالی ست و لیکن ثمرش جز غم نیست

     ešq dar âlam ma'ni-st nahâli šâdâb
     xoš nahâli-st va likan samr-aš joz ğam nist

     The meaning of love in the world is a well-watered sapling;
     It is a pretty sapling, but its fruit is naught but grief.

2. (Dari or dated) only

   Synonym: تنها (tanhâ)

Descendants

• Dari: لیکِن (lēkin)
• Iranian Persian: لیکِن (liken) (uncommon)
• Tajik: лекин (lekin)
• → Azerbaijani: lakin
• → Bengali: লেকিন (lekin)
• → Chagatai:
  • Uyghur: لېكىن (lëkin)
  • Uzbek: lekin
• → Hindustani:

  Hindi: लेकिन (lekin)

  Urdu: لیکِن (lekin)

• → Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: لێکن (lêkin)

  Northern Kurdish: lêkin, lê

• → Punjabi:

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

  Shahmukhi script: لیکن (lekin, lekan)

Punjabi

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian لیکن (lekin), from Arabic لٰكِنْ (lākin).

Conjunction

لیکن • (lekin, lekan) (Gurmukhi spelling ਲੇਕਿਨ)

1. but

   Synonyms: مگر (magar), پر (par)

2. however

Urdu

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian لیکِن (lēkin), from Arabic لٰكِنْ (lākin).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /leː.kɪn/
• Rhymes: -ɪn

Conjunction

لیکن • (lekin) (Hindi spelling लेकिन)

1. but
2. except

Synonyms

• مگر (magar)
• پر (par)

References

• “لیکن”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
• “لیکن”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2025.