sken سكن
Moroccan Darija · verb
“sken” (سكن) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to live, reside.
Meanings
- to live, reside
- to settle somewhere
Usage
Sken means "to live, to have one's home somewhere". It is constructed with f: sken f Casa, "he lives in Casablanca". In the present, one says kaysken, and after words like khass or bghit, the form nsken or tsken is used. The participle saken refers to the person who lives in a place, and sokna to the housing. Pitfall: "to live" in the sense of existing or spending one's life is rather expressed by 3ach. Sken only concerns the place of residence.
Example
ضروري ن سكن ف هاد لبلاصة فاش نكبر
darori n sken f had lblassa fach nkbr
“I must live in this place when I grow up.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kanskn | sknt | |
| nta (you, m.) | katskn | sknti | skn |
| nti (you, f.) | katskni | sknti | skni |
| howa (he) | kayskn | skn | |
| hiya (she) | katskn | sknat | |
| 7na (we) | kanskno | sknna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katskno | sknto | skno |
| homa (they) | kayskno | skno |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sken” but also “skn”, “skan”, “sakn” and “seken”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “sken” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to live, to reside”; “housing (noun)”: sken in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to live, to reside”; “to settle (in the heart)”: sken in Tunisian.