فلان

Arabic

Etymology

Compare Classical Syriac ܦܠܢ (plān) and Hebrew פְּלוֹנִי (pəlônî).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /fu.laːn/
- (Kuwait, Persian Gulf) IPA^(key): /flɑn/

Noun

فُلَان • (fulān) m (feminine فُلَانَة (fulāna))

A placeholder name for a person, used when a name is not known; a generic name; so-and-so
- 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 25:28:
  يَـٰوَيۡلَتَىٰ لَيۡتَنِي لَمۡ أَتَّخِذۡ فُلَانًا خَلِيلًا
  yāwaylatā laytanī lam ʔattaḵiḏ fulānan ḵalīlan
  Oh, woe to me! I wish I had not taken that one as a friend.

Declension

Declension of noun **فُلَان** (fulān)
singular	basic singular triptote
singular	indefinite	definite	construct
informal	فُلَان fulān	—	—
nominative	فُلَانٌ fulānun	—	—
accusative	فُلَانًا fulānan	—	—
genitive	فُلَانٍ fulānin	—	—

Derived terms

فُلَانَة (fulāna)
فُلَانِيّ (fulāniyy)
فُلانٌ وَفُلان (fulānun wafulān) (Twelver Shiism; idiomatic)

Descendants

Armenian: ֆիլան (filan)
Bashkir: фәлән (fələn)
Bengali: ফলনা (fôlôna)
Malay: Si Fulan
Persian: فلان (folân)
- → Urdu: فَلاں (falāṉ)
- → Turkmen: pylan
→ Swahili: fulani
→ Turkish: falan
Albanian: filan
Andalusian Arabic: فُلَان
- Old Spanish: fulano, fulán
  - Spanish: Fulano, fulano
    - → Portuguese: fulano
- Old Galician-Portuguese: foão
  - Portuguese: fuão

Hijazi Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic فُلان (fulān).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /fuˈlaːn/

Noun

فلان • (fulān) m (feminine فلانة (fulāna))

Joe Schmoe, what's-his-name, so-and-so
فُلان و زُعْطَان و عِلّان ― fulān u zuʕṭān u ʕillān ― Tom, Dick and Harry

Persian

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic فُلَان (fulān).

Pronunciation

(Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /fu.ˈlaːn/

(Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [fo.lɒ́ːn], [fe.lɒ́ːn]

(Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [fu.lɔ́n], [fä.lɔ́n]

Readings
Classical reading^?	fulān
Iranian reading^?	folân, felân
Tajik reading^?	fulon, falon

Noun


Iranian Persian	فلان
Dari	فلان
Tajik	фалон, фулон

فلان • (folân)

so-and-so, such-and-such; a generic placeholder name, used when one does not wish to specify a name.
Synonym: فلانی (folâni)

― folân o bahmân ― so and so, one thing or another

― diruz folân râ didam. ― Yesterday, I saw so and so.

Usage notes

Often used in conjunction with the native placeholder name (bahmân) or بسار(besâr), which do not occur without (folân).

Adjective

فلان • (folân)

so and so; such and such; used when one does not wish to specify.
― dar folân târix ― at some point or another

Usage notes

Always used before the noun.