فن

See also: فت, قب, and قن

Arabic

Etymology

From Classical Persian (pand, “knack, trick”). Semantic development resembles Ancient Greek τέχνη (tékhnē) and Latin ars.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /fann/

Noun

فَنّ • (fann) m (plural فُنُون (funūn) or أَفْنَان (ʔafnān) or أَفَانِين (ʔafānīn))

genre
اَلْغَزَلُ فَنٌّ مِنْ فُنُونِ الشِّعْرِ
al-ḡazalu fannun min funūni aš-šiʕri
The ghazal is a genre of poetry.
(literally, “The ghazal is a genre from among the genres of poetry.”)
art
(archaic) knack, trick, artifice
(obsolete) quarrel, ruffle, trouble
- a. 800, أبو زيد سعيد بن أوس الأنصاري [ʔabū zayd saʕīd ibn ʔaws al-ʔanṣārīy], كتاب النوادر [Buch der Seltenheiten]:
  Fleischer, Heinrich Leberecht (1888) Kleinere Schriften‎^[1] (in German), volume 3, Leipzig: S. Hirzel, →DOI, pages 483–484:
  لَأَجْعَلَنْ لِإْبْنَةِ عَمْرٍو فَنَّا … حَتَّى يَكُونَ مَهْرُهَا دُهْدُنَّا
  laʔajʕalan liʔibnati ʕamrin fannā … ḥattā yakūna mahruhā duhdunnā
  Verily I will cause a dispute about ʕamr’s daughter … so her marriage portion will be vain
(obsolete) adornment, decoration, embellishment
(archaic) sort, species, type
(obsolete) state, condition, case

Declension

Declension of noun **فَنّ** (fann)
singular	basic singular triptote
singular	indefinite	definite	construct
informal	فَنّ fann	الْفَنّ al-fann	فَنّ fann
nominative	فَنٌّ fannun	الْفَنُّ al-fannu	فَنُّ fannu
accusative	فَنًّا fannan	الْفَنَّ al-fanna	فَنَّ fanna
genitive	فَنٍّ fannin	الْفَنِّ al-fanni	فَنِّ fanni
dual	indefinite	definite	construct
informal	فَنَّيْن fannayn	الْفَنَّيْن al-fannayn	فَنَّيْ fannay
nominative	فَنَّانِ fannāni	الْفَنَّانِ al-fannāni	فَنَّا fannā
accusative	فَنَّيْنِ fannayni	الْفَنَّيْنِ al-fannayni	فَنَّيْ fannay
genitive	فَنَّيْنِ fannayni	الْفَنَّيْنِ al-fannayni	فَنَّيْ fannay
plural	basic broken plural triptote‎; basic broken plural diptote
plural	indefinite	definite	construct
informal	فُنُون‎; أَفْنَان‎; أَفَانِين funūn‎; ʔafnān‎; ʔafānīn	الْفُنُون‎; الْأَفْنَان‎; الْأَفَانِين al-funūn‎; al-ʔafnān‎; al-ʔafānīn	فُنُون‎; أَفْنَان‎; أَفَانِين funūn‎; ʔafnān‎; ʔafānīn
nominative	فُنُونٌ‎; أَفْنَانٌ‎; أَفَانِينُ funūnun‎; ʔafnānun‎; ʔafānīnu	الْفُنُونُ‎; الْأَفْنَانُ‎; الْأَفَانِينُ al-funūnu‎; al-ʔafnānu‎; al-ʔafānīnu	فُنُونُ‎; أَفْنَانُ‎; أَفَانِينُ funūnu‎; ʔafnānu‎; ʔafānīnu
accusative	فُنُونًا‎; أَفْنَانًا‎; أَفَانِينَ funūnan‎; ʔafnānan‎; ʔafānīna	الْفُنُونَ‎; الْأَفْنَانَ‎; الْأَفَانِينَ al-funūna‎; al-ʔafnāna‎; al-ʔafānīna	فُنُونَ‎; أَفْنَانَ‎; أَفَانِينَ funūna‎; ʔafnāna‎; ʔafānīna
genitive	فُنُونٍ‎; أَفْنَانٍ‎; أَفَانِينَ funūnin‎; ʔafnānin‎; ʔafānīna	الْفُنُونِ‎; الْأَفْنَانِ‎; الْأَفَانِينِ al-funūni‎; al-ʔafnāni‎; al-ʔafānīni	فُنُونِ‎; أَفْنَانِ‎; أَفَانِينِ funūni‎; ʔafnāni‎; ʔafānīni

Derived terms

اِسْتَْفَنَّ (istafanna, “to incite; to cause to be dispersed”)
اِفْتَنَّ (iftanna, “to produce various groups of, to expatiate”)
تَفَنَّنَ (tafannana, “to make various sorts”)
فَنَن (fanan, “branch of a tree”)
فَنَّ (fanna)
فَنَّنَ (fannana, “to make various sorts, to medley”)
فَنّاء (fannāʔ), فَنْوَاء (fanwāʔ, “branched”)
فَنّان (fannān, “who performs various sorts; artist”)
فَيْنَان (faynān, “having abundant hairlocks”)
مِفَنّ (mifann, “who performs various sorts”)

Descendants

Egyptian Arabic: فن (fann)
→ Azerbaijani: fənn
→ Bashkir: фән (fən)
→ Hausa: fannī̀
→ Kazakh: пән (pän)
→ Ottoman Turkish: فن (fenn)
- Turkish: fen
→ Persian: فن (fann)
→ Swahili: fani
→ Turkish: fen
→ Uyghur: پەن (pen)
→ Uzbek: fan

Verb

فَنَّ • (fanna) I (non-past يَفُنُّ (yafunnu), verbal noun فَنّ (fann)) (obsolete)

to cheat, to defraud, to finesse
to cause trouble to, to weary, to embarrass
to adorn, to decorate, to embellish

Conjugation

Conjugation of **فَنَّ** (I, geminate, a ~ u, full passive (?), verbal noun **فَنّ**)

verbal noun الْمَصْدَر					فَنّ fann
active participle اِسْم الْفَاعِل					فَانّ fānn
passive participle اِسْم الْمَفْعُول					مَفْنُون mafnūn
active voice الْفِعْل الْمَعْلُوم
		singular الْمُفْرَد			dual الْمُثَنَّى		plural الْجَمْع
		1^st person الْمُتَكَلِّم	2^nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3^rd person الْغَائِب	2^nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3^rd person الْغَائِب	1^st person الْمُتَكَلِّم	2^nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3^rd person الْغَائِب
past (perfect) indicative الْمَاضِي	m	فَنَنْتُ fanantu	فَنَنْتَ fananta	فَنَّ fanna	فَنَنْتُمَا fanantumā	فَنَّا fannā	فَنَنَّا fanannā	فَنَنْتُمْ fanantum	فَنُّوا fannū
past (perfect) indicative الْمَاضِي	f	فَنَنْتُ fanantu	فَنَنْتِ fananti	فَنَّتْ fannat	فَنَنْتُمَا fanantumā	فَنَّتَا fannatā	فَنَنَّا fanannā	فَنَنْتُنَّ fanantunna	فَنَنَّ fananna
non-past (imperfect) indicative الْمُضَارِع الْمَرْفُوع	m	أَفُنُّ ʔafunnu	تَفُنُّ tafunnu	يَفُنُّ yafunnu	تَفُنَّانِ tafunnāni	يَفُنَّانِ yafunnāni	نَفُنُّ nafunnu	تَفُنُّونَ tafunnūna	يَفُنُّونَ yafunnūna
non-past (imperfect) indicative الْمُضَارِع الْمَرْفُوع	f	أَفُنُّ ʔafunnu	تَفُنِّينَ tafunnīna	تَفُنُّ tafunnu	تَفُنَّانِ tafunnāni	تَفُنَّانِ tafunnāni	نَفُنُّ nafunnu	تَفْنُنَّ tafnunna	يَفْنُنَّ yafnunna
subjunctive الْمُضَارِع الْمَنْصُوب	m	أَفُنَّ ʔafunna	تَفُنَّ tafunna	يَفُنَّ yafunna	تَفُنَّا tafunnā	يَفُنَّا yafunnā	نَفُنَّ nafunna	تَفُنُّوا tafunnū	يَفُنُّوا yafunnū
subjunctive الْمُضَارِع الْمَنْصُوب	f	أَفُنَّ ʔafunna	تَفُنِّي tafunnī	تَفُنَّ tafunna	تَفُنَّا tafunnā	تَفُنَّا tafunnā	نَفُنَّ nafunna	تَفْنُنَّ tafnunna	يَفْنُنَّ yafnunna
jussive الْمُضَارِع الْمَجْزُوم	m	أَفُنَّ, أَفُنِّ, أَفْنُنْ ʔafunna, ʔafunni, ʔafnun	تَفُنَّ, تَفُنِّ, تَفْنُنْ tafunna, tafunni, tafnun	يَفُنَّ, يَفُنِّ, يَفْنُنْ yafunna, yafunni, yafnun	تَفُنَّا tafunnā	يَفُنَّا yafunnā	نَفُنَّ, نَفُنِّ, نَفْنُنْ nafunna, nafunni, nafnun	تَفُنُّوا tafunnū	يَفُنُّوا yafunnū
jussive الْمُضَارِع الْمَجْزُوم	f	أَفُنَّ, أَفُنِّ, أَفْنُنْ ʔafunna, ʔafunni, ʔafnun	تَفُنِّي tafunnī	تَفُنَّ, تَفُنِّ, تَفْنُنْ tafunna, tafunni, tafnun	تَفُنَّا tafunnā	تَفُنَّا tafunnā	نَفُنَّ, نَفُنِّ, نَفْنُنْ nafunna, nafunni, nafnun	تَفْنُنَّ tafnunna	يَفْنُنَّ yafnunna
imperative الْأَمْر	m		فُنَّ, فُنِّ, اُفْنُنْ funna, funni, ufnun		فُنَّا funnā			فُنُّوا funnū
imperative الْأَمْر	f		فُنِّي funnī		فُنَّا funnā			اُفْنُنَّ ufnunna

passive voice الْفِعْل الْمَجْهُول
		singular الْمُفْرَد			dual الْمُثَنَّى		plural الْجَمْع
		1^st person الْمُتَكَلِّم	2^nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3^rd person الْغَائِب	2^nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3^rd person الْغَائِب	1^st person الْمُتَكَلِّم	2^nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3^rd person الْغَائِب
past (perfect) indicative الْمَاضِي	m	فُنِنْتُ funintu	فُنِنْتَ funinta	فُنَّ funna	فُنِنْتُمَا funintumā	فُنَّا funnā	فُنِنَّا funinnā	فُنِنْتُمْ funintum	فُنُّوا funnū
past (perfect) indicative الْمَاضِي	f	فُنِنْتُ funintu	فُنِنْتِ funinti	فُنَّتْ funnat	فُنِنْتُمَا funintumā	فُنَّتَا funnatā	فُنِنَّا funinnā	فُنِنْتُنَّ funintunna	فُنِنَّ funinna
non-past (imperfect) indicative الْمُضَارِع الْمَرْفُوع	m	أُفَنُّ ʔufannu	تُفَنُّ tufannu	يُفَنُّ yufannu	تُفَنَّانِ tufannāni	يُفَنَّانِ yufannāni	نُفَنُّ nufannu	تُفَنُّونَ tufannūna	يُفَنُّونَ yufannūna
non-past (imperfect) indicative الْمُضَارِع الْمَرْفُوع	f	أُفَنُّ ʔufannu	تُفَنِّينَ tufannīna	تُفَنُّ tufannu	تُفَنَّانِ tufannāni	تُفَنَّانِ tufannāni	نُفَنُّ nufannu	تُفْنَنَّ tufnanna	يُفْنَنَّ yufnanna
subjunctive الْمُضَارِع الْمَنْصُوب	m	أُفَنَّ ʔufanna	تُفَنَّ tufanna	يُفَنَّ yufanna	تُفَنَّا tufannā	يُفَنَّا yufannā	نُفَنَّ nufanna	تُفَنُّوا tufannū	يُفَنُّوا yufannū
subjunctive الْمُضَارِع الْمَنْصُوب	f	أُفَنَّ ʔufanna	تُفَنِّي tufannī	تُفَنَّ tufanna	تُفَنَّا tufannā	تُفَنَّا tufannā	نُفَنَّ nufanna	تُفْنَنَّ tufnanna	يُفْنَنَّ yufnanna
jussive الْمُضَارِع الْمَجْزُوم	m	أُفَنَّ, أُفَنِّ, أُفْنَنْ ʔufanna, ʔufanni, ʔufnan	تُفَنَّ, تُفَنِّ, تُفْنَنْ tufanna, tufanni, tufnan	يُفَنَّ, يُفَنِّ, يُفْنَنْ yufanna, yufanni, yufnan	تُفَنَّا tufannā	يُفَنَّا yufannā	نُفَنَّ, نُفَنِّ, نُفْنَنْ nufanna, nufanni, nufnan	تُفَنُّوا tufannū	يُفَنُّوا yufannū
jussive الْمُضَارِع الْمَجْزُوم	f	أُفَنَّ, أُفَنِّ, أُفْنَنْ ʔufanna, ʔufanni, ʔufnan	تُفَنِّي tufannī	تُفَنَّ, تُفَنِّ, تُفْنَنْ tufanna, tufanni, tufnan	تُفَنَّا tufannā	تُفَنَّا tufannā	نُفَنَّ, نُفَنِّ, نُفْنَنْ nufanna, nufanni, nufnan	تُفْنَنَّ tufnanna	يُفْنَنَّ yufnanna

Egyptian Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic فَنّ (fann).

Pronunciation

Noun

فن • (fann) m

art

Ottoman Turkish

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic فَنّ (fann, “art”), itself from Classical Persian (pand, “knack, trick”).

Noun

فن • (fenn) (definite accusative فنی (fenni), plural فنون (fünun) or افنان (efnân))

kind, sort, type, variety, a class of entities that have common characteristics such that they may be grouped together
Synonyms: جنس (cins), چشید (çeşid), صنف (sınf, sınıf), صوی (soy), نوع (nevʼ)
art, the conscious production or arrangement of various elements in a manner that affects the senses and emotions
Synonyms: صنعت (sanʼat, zanʼat), هنر (hüner)

Derived terms

فنی (fennî, “related to art”)

Descendants

Turkish: fen

Persian

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Arabic فَنّ (fann), from Persian (pand, “knack, trick”).

Pronunciation

(Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /ˈfan/, /ˈfann/

(Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [fän], [fän(ː)]
- (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [fän], [fän(ː)]
- (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [fän], [fän(ː)]

(Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [fæn], [fæn(ː)]

(Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [fän], [fän(ː)]

Readings
Classical reading^?	fan, fann
Dari reading^?	fan, fann
Iranian reading^?	fan, fann
Tajik reading^?	fan, fann

Noun

فن • (fann) (plural فن‌ها, or فنون (fonun))

technique; method
Synonym: تکنیک (teknik)

― fonun-e revâyat ― narrative techniques

― fonun-e nofuz ― infiltration methods

― fonun-e mâhigiri ― fishing methods
trick; ruse
- c. 1260s, Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī, translated by Reynold A. Nicholson, مثنوی معنوی [Masnavi-ye-Ma'navi], volume I, verse 379:
  موش تا انبار ما حفره زده ست
  وز فنش انبار ما ویران شده ست
  mūš tā anbār-i mā hufra zada-st
  w-az fan-aš anbar-i mā wērān šuda-st
  Since the mouse has made a hole in our barn, and our barn has been ravaged by its guile […]
  (Classical Persian transliteration)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English fan.

Pronunciation

(Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [fæn]

Readings
Iranian reading^?	fan

Noun

فن • (fan) (plural فن‌ها)

industrial fan; blower
synonym of (panke, “electrical fan (used in houses)”)

Etymology 3

Borrowed from English fan, short for fanatic.

Pronunciation

(Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [fæn]

Readings
Iranian reading^?	fan

Noun

فن • (fan) (plural فن‌ها)

fan (strong supporter)
Synonym: هوادار (havâdâr)

Urdu

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian (fan), from Arabic فَنّ (fann), from earlier Persian (pand).

Pronunciation

(Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /fən/

Noun

فَن • (fan) m (Hindi spelling फ़न)

art, craft, skill
trick, deception, artifice

References

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

Arabic

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Derived terms

Descendants

Verb

Conjugation

Egyptian Arabic

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Ottoman Turkish

Etymology

Noun

Derived terms

Descendants

Further reading

Persian

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Noun

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Noun

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

Noun

Urdu

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

References