sakan ساكن

Algerian Darja · adjective

“sakan” (ساكن) is an adjective in Algerian Darja meaning living, residing.

Meanings

1. living, residing
2. resident

Usage

Sakan is the participle of the verb "to live (in a place)". It is used mainly to say where someone lives, with the preposition f: "ana sakan f Wahran", "I live in Oran". It agrees in gender and number: sakna in the feminine, saknin in the plural. It has present-tense value and often corresponds to a conjugated verb in English. As a noun, it means a resident, but wlad or nas is more commonly used for the people of a place. Common, neutral register. The meaning "calm, still" exists in Standard Arabic but is rare in speech.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sakan” but also “saken”, “sakin”, “sakn” and “saakan”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Type “sakan” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “living, residing (somewhere)”; “inhabitant, resident”: sakn in Moroccan.

In Tunisian Derja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “living, residing (somewhere)”; “resident, inhabitant”: saken in Tunisian.