لیکن

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

لیکن (lekin)

1. but

• لاکن (lâken)

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).

• Audio (Iran):

  (file)

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 ġam 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)

• 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)

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

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

1. but

   Synonyms: مگر (magar), پر (par)

2. however

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

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

لیکن • (lekin) (Hindi spelling लेकिन)

1. but
2. except

• مگر (magar)
• پر (par)

• “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.