flen فلان
Tunisian Derja · pronoun
“flen” (فلان) is a pronoun in Tunisian Derja meaning so-and-so, someone.
Meanings
- so-and-so, someone
- a certain person (unnamed)
Usage
Flen refers to a person one does not want to or cannot name, like "so-and-so" in English. It is very common in stories and proverbs, and in the formula flen ben flen (so-and-so son of so-and-so). It is also used in the pair flen w feltan, which is equivalent to "so-and-so and what's-his-name" or "anybody". The feminine is flena. The tone can be neutral or slightly disdainful depending on the context: ma yhemnich flen means "I don't care what so-and-so thinks".
Example
ما تسمعش كلام فلان وفلتان
ma tesma3ch klem flen w feltan
“Don't listen to what so-and-so and what's-his-name say.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “flen” but also “flan”, “flene”, “fléne” and “fleen”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “flen” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “so-and-so, some unnamed person”; “flan (caramel dessert)”: flan in Algerian.