Arabic vocabulary
مَسْكَنdwelling in Arabic
مَسْكَن is how you say “dwelling” in Arabic. Hear it pronounced and see it used in real example sentences from classical texts below.
Root س ك ن (s-k-n)noun (noun of place / ism al-makān)Pronounced maskan
Meaning of dwelling in Arabic
- dwelling, house, abode — formed as the place-noun (ism makān) of the verb سَكَنَ in its sense 'he dwelt in, or inhabited, a house/place' — i.e. literally 'a place where one settles and comes to rest'
مَسْكَن belongs to the root س-ك-ن, whose basic sense is stillness and rest — a moving thing سَكَنَ ("settled, stopped, calmed") after motion. The verb extends to سَكَنَ الدَّارَ, "he dwelt in the house," with verbal nouns سُكْنَى/سُكْنٌ; مَسْكَن is the place-noun built on that sense, so it names the physical place of dwelling — a house or abode, somewhere one "comes to rest." Don't confuse it with the similar-looking مِسْكِين (a humble or needy person) — the same root entry notes سَكَنَ can also mean "he became such as is termed miskīn," so the two words share a root but diverge in pattern and meaning.
Words from the same root
- سَكَنَto be or become still, motionless, calm; also to dwell in or inhabit a place
- سكّنهُto make (something) still, calm, or quiet; to pacify
- سُكْنَىthe act of dwelling or residing in a place (verbal noun)
- سُكْنٌdwelling, residing in a place (alternate verbal noun)
- سَكَنٌa sense of ease, trust, or reliance placed in something
- تَمَسْكَنَto act humble or poor, to become lowly like one termed miskīn
Common questions
- How do you say "dwelling" in Arabic?
- مَسْكَن (maskan).
- Is مَسْكَن related to مِسْكِين (miskīn)?
- They share the root س-ك-ن, but مَسْكَن is a place-noun meaning 'dwelling, house,' while مِسْكِين denotes a humble or needy person — a different derivational pattern.
Definitions synthesised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).
Example sentences
هكذا تصير الذاكرةُ مسكنًا صالحًا للسكنى لا مستودعَ فوضى
Thus, memory becomes a dwelling fit to live in, not a warehouse of chaos.
مَسْكَنًا — a dwelling. 'a dwelling / home,' in the -a form because 'becomes' forces its predicate there. Memory becomes a HOME — qualified by 'fit to live in' next. The organized-house image returns as the closing verdict.
From: Retaining the Quran →وصيرها مساكن الخلق تربيهم صغارًا وتضمهم رفاتا،
And He made it the dwellings of creation, nurturing them as infants and receiving them as remains,
مَسَاكِنَ — the dwellings. This noun is the second object of the transforming verb, what the earth was made into, in the accusative as that result, and it heads a possessive pairing, 'the dwellings of creation'. So its case marks the outcome, and it opens the next 'of' link.
From: Death and Decree →
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