loukan لوكان
Tunisian Derja · conjunction
“loukan” (لوكان) is a conjunction in Tunisian Derja meaning if (unreal or uncertain hypothesis).
Meanings
- if (unreal or uncertain hypothesis)
- if only
Usage
Loukan introduces a hypothetical condition, often unreal: "if (I had known)…". The consequence is frequently introduced by kén or by makénech ("not"). In derja, kén alone is also used for "if". Loukan emphasizes the supposed or regretted nature of the condition. The word is often followed by a past-tense verb even when the meaning is present or future: loukan ja, "if he came". Used alone with a regretful intonation, it means "if only…". Common register, both spoken and written.
Example
لوكان جيت بكري، راك لقيتو
loukan jit bekri, rak l9itou
“If you had come early, you would have found it.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “loukan” but also “lokan”, “louken”, “lawkan” and “loken”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “loukan” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “if (hypothetical, unreal condition)”; “if only (wish)”: loukan in Algerian.