# جان
## Arabic
### Etymology 1

Derived from the active participle of جَنَى (janā, “to gather, to harvest; to commit a crime”).

#### Adjective

جَانٍ • (jānin) (informal جَانِي (jānī), feminine جَانِيَة (jāniya), masculine plural جُنَاة (junāh) or جَانُونَ (jānūna), feminine plural جَانِيَات (jāniyāt))
* guilty, delinquent, criminal, flagrant, vicious, evil

##### Declension
#### Noun

جَانٍ • (jānin) m (construct state جَانِي (jānī), plural جَانُونَ (jānūna) or جُنَاة (junāh), feminine جَانِيَة (jāniya))
* gatherer, harvester, harvestman, reaper
* perpetrator, offender, delinquent, criminal, culprit, felon, evildoer

##### Declension
### Etymology 2

Has the form derived from the active participle, as if from جَنَّ (janna, “to hide”) (in the passive جُنَّ (junna, “to go crazy”)).

#### Noun

جَانّ • (jānn) m or f (collective, singulative جِنِّيّ m (jinniyy) or جِنِّيَة f (jinniya), plural جِنَّان (jinnān) or جَوَانّ (jawānn) or جِنّ (jinn) or جِنَّة (jinna))
* snake, serpent
* (proper noun, Islam) Jann, the forefather of the race of jinn
** 1445-1505, Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī, Al-Dur al-Manthur, page Surah 2:30:وقد كان فيها قبل أن يخلق بألفي عام الجن بنو الجان، ففسدوا في الأرض.Two thousand years before [Adam] He [God] created the jinn, the sons of al-Jann, on earth, and they spread corruption and shed blood therein.
* (in the singular, common noun, rare or Classical Arabic) one of the jinn; a genie, a jann.
** 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 55:74:لَمْ يَطْمِثْهُنَّ إِنْسٌ قَبْلَهُمْ وَلَا جَانٌّlam yaṭmiṯhunna ʔinsun qablahum walā jānnuntouched them has not mankind before them nor a jinni.
* a serpentine or draconic class of the jinn
* (in the plural) any supernatural being in general, especially elves and fairies.

##### Related terms

* جِنّ (jinn, “jinn”)
* نَسْنَاس (nasnās, “nasnas”)
* غُول (ḡūl, “ghoul”)

## Azerbaijani
### Noun

جان (can) (definite accusative جانێ (canı), plural جانلار (canlar))
* Arabic spelling of can (“life, soul”)

#### Declension
## Old Anatolian Turkish
### Etymology

Borrowed from Persian جان.

### Noun

جَانْ (cān)
* soul, spirit
** 14th Century, anonymous author, Dresden manuscript: Kitāb-ı Dedem Ḳorḳud Alā Lisān-ı Tāife-i Oġuzān:اولن آدم دیرلمز, چیخان جان كرو كلمزölän ādäm dirilmäz, çıḫan cān gerü gälmäz[a] dead person does not arise back, [a] departed soul does not come back
* life

#### Derived terms

* جَانْبَازْ

#### Descendants

* Azerbaijani: can
* Gagauz: can
* Ottoman Turkish: جان (can)
** Turkish: can
** → Albanian: xhan
** → Macedonian: џан (džan)
** → Serbo-Croatian:
    Cyrillic script: џан
    Latin script: džan

### References

* ↑ Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “can”, in Nişanyan Sözlük

### Further reading

* “can”, in XIII. Yüzyılından Beri Türkiye Türkçesiyle Yazılmış Kitaplarından Toplanan Tanıklarıyle Tarama Sözlüğü (Türk Dil Kurumu yayınları; 212)‎ (in Turkish), Ankara: Türk Dil Kurumu, 1963–1977, page 126

## Ottoman Turkish
### Etymology

Inherited from Old Anatolian Turkish جان, Persian جان (jân, “soul, vital spirit, life”).

### Noun

جان • (can)
* soul
* being
* life
* heart
* darling

#### Descendants

* Turkish: can
* → Albanian: xhan
* → Macedonian: џан (džan)
* → Serbo-Croatian:
    Cyrillic script: џан
    Latin script: džan

### Suffix

جان • (can)
* Suffix expressing intimacy, roughly equivalent to dear or darling, attached to a name or title

## Persian
### Alternative forms

* جون (jun) (colloquial Iranian)

### Etymology

From Middle Persian [Book Pahlavi needed] (HYA), [Book Pahlavi needed] (yʾn'), 𐫃𐫏𐫀𐫗 (gyʾn /⁠gyān⁠/, “soul, ghost”), from Proto-Iranian *wyaHnáH (equivalent to*wi- + *HanH- (“to breathe”)), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *wyaHnás, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁- (“to breathe”), whence, for example, Latin animus.
Cognate with Northern Kurdish giyan, Central Kurdish گیان (giyan), Avestan 𐬬𐬌𐬌𐬁𐬥𐬀𐬌𐬌𐬁 (viiānaiiā), Sanskrit व्यान (vyāná).

### Pronunciation

* (Classical Persian) IPA: [d͡ʒɑːn]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [d͡ʒɑːn]
* (Dari, formal) IPA: [d͡ʒɑːn]
** (Kabuli) IPA: [d͡ʒɑːn]
** (Hazaragi) IPA: [d͡ʒɔːn]
* (Iran, formal) IPA: [d͡ʒɒːn]
* (Iran, formal) IPA: [d͡ʒɒːn]
** (Tehrani) IPA: [d͡ʒuːn]
* (Tajik, formal) IPA: [d͡ʒɔn]
* Rhymes: -ɑːn, (Tehrani) -uːn

### Noun

جان • (jân) (plural جان‌ها (jân-hâ))
* soul; life; life-force
    جان خود را از دست دادن ― jân-e xod râ az dast dâdan ― to lose one's life, to pass away
** c. 1580, Vahshī Bāfqī, “گلهٔ یار دل‌آزار”, in گزیده اشعار [Selected Poems]‎:جان من سنگدلی ، دل به تو دادن غلط است بر سر راه تو چون خاک فتادن غلط است چشم امید به روی تو گشادن غلط است روی پر گرد به راه تو نهادن غلط است رفتن اولاست ز کوی تو ، ستادن غلط است جان شیرین به تمنای تو دادن غلط استjān-i man-i sangdilī, dil ba tu dādan ğalat ast bar sar-i rāh-i tu čūn xāk fitādan ğalat ast čašm-i umēd ba rōy-i tu gušādan ğalat ast rōy-i pur gird ba rāh-i to nihādan ğalat ast raftan awwalā-st zi kōy-i tu, sitādan ğalat ast jān-i šīrīn ba tamannā-yi tu dādan ğalat astMy stone-hearted love, it's a mistake to give my heart to you; It's a mistake to fall down like dust at the head of your path; It's a mistake to open my hopeful eyes to your face; It's a mistake to lay my dusty face on your path; First of all, I leave your street, it's a mistake to stand here; It's a mistake to give up my sweet life to desiring you.(Classical Persian transliteration)
* energy; strength
    پاهایم جان ندارند.pâ-hâ-yam jân na-dârand.My legs are tired.(literally, “My legs have no life.”)
* main point; essence
    جان کلام ― jân-e kalâm ― heart of the matter
* (mainly in جانم or جان من) someone very close, e.g. a beloved or close family
    جانم ― jân-am ― my love (literally, “my soul”)
** c. 1580, Vahshī Bāfqī, “گلهٔ یار دل‌آزار”, in گزیده اشعار [Selected Poems]‎:جان من سنگدلی ، دل به تو دادن غلط است بر سر راه تو چون خاک فتادن غلط است چشم امید به روی تو گشادن غلط است روی پر گرد به راه تو نهادن غلط است رفتن اولاست ز کوی تو ، ستادن غلط است جان شیرین به تمنای تو دادن غلط استjān-i man-i sangdilī, dil ba tu dādan ğalat ast bar sar-i rāh-i tu čūn xāk fitādan ğalat ast čašm-i umēd ba rōy-i tu gušādan ğalat ast rōy-i pur gird ba rāh-i to nihādan ğalat ast raftan awwalā-st zi kōy-i tu, sitādan ğalat ast jān-i šīrīn ba tamannā-yi tu dādan ğalat astMy stone-hearted love, it's a mistake to give my heart to you; It's a mistake to fall down like dust at the head of your path; It's a mistake to open my hopeful eyes to your face; It's a mistake to lay my dusty face on your path; First of all, I leave your street, it's a mistake to stand here; It's a mistake to give up my sweet life to desiring you.(Classical Persian transliteration)

#### Derived terms

* از جان و دل (az jân o del, “most willingly”, literally “from soul and heart”)
* به جان آمدن (be jân âmadan, “to be endangered”, literally “to come to the soul”)
* جان تسلیم کردن (jân taslim kard, “to pass away”, literally “to surrender the soul”)
* جان دادن (jân dâdan, “to pass away; to give life; to be passionate”, literally “to give the soul”)
* جانان (jânân, “the beloved”, literally “souls; lives”)
* جانباز (jânbâz, “disabled war veteran”, literally “life-gamblers”)
* جاندار (jândâr, “animal”, literally “soul-haver”)
* جانسوز (jân-suz, “heartrending”, literally “soul-burning”)
* جانسپار (jân-separ, “devoted”, literally “soul-entrusting”)
* جان‌آفرین (jân-âfarin, “God”, literally “soul-creator”)

### Interjection

جان • (jân)
* what?; a request for clarification upon mishearing.
* An exclamation of joy.

#### Usage notes

* When used for clarification, this is normally pronounced jân and not jun even in colloquial Iranian Persian.

#### Derived terms

* آخ جان (âx jân)
* آخ جون (âx jun)

### Descendants

* → Middle Armenian: ջան (ǰan)
** → Armenian: ջան (ǰan), ճան (čan) — Western Armenian
*** → Russian: джан (džan)
* → Bashkir: йән (yən)
* → Bengali: জান (jan)
* → Chuvash: чун (čun)
* → Gujarati: જાન (jān)
* → Georgian: ჯანი (ǯani)
* → Hindustani:
    Hindi: जान (jān)
    Urdu: جان (jān)
* → Kazakh: жан (jan)
* → Kurdish:
    Central Kurdish: جان (can)
    Northern Kurdish: can
* → Kyrgyz: жан (jan)
* Old Anatolian Turkish: جان (cān)
** Azerbaijani: can
** Gagauz: can
** Ottoman Turkish: جان (can)
*** Turkish: can
*** → Albanian: xhan
*** → Macedonian: џан (džan)
*** → Serbo-Croatian:
    Cyrillic script: џан
    Latin script: džan
* → Pashto: جان (ǰān)
* → Sindhi: جان (jān)
* → Tatar: җан (can)
* → Old Azari: جان (ǰān)
* → Turkmen: jan
* → Uyghur: جان (jan)
* → Uzbek: jon

### References

* Cheung, Johnny (2007) Etymological Dictionary of the Iranian Verb (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 2), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 161

## Punjabi
### Etymology 1

Borrowed from Classical Persian جَان (jān).

#### Pronunciation

* (Standard Punjabi) IPA: /d͡ʒäːnᵊ/

#### Noun

جان • (jān) f (Gurmukhi spelling ਜਾਨ)
* life, soul
    Synonyms: زِنْدَگی (zindagī), جِیوَن (jīvan), جِنْدَڑی (jindaṛī), حَیَات, آتْما (ātmā), رُوح (rūḥ)
* courage, power
* (figuratively) love, beloved
* truth, basis (of a matter)

##### Declension
### Etymology 2

Inherited from Prakrit 𑀚𑀸𑀡 (jāṇa), from Sanskrit ज्ञान (jñāna).

#### Pronunciation

* (Standard Punjabi) IPA: /d͡ʒäːɳᵊ/

#### Noun

جَاݨ • (jāṇ) f (Gurmukhi spelling ਜਾਣ)
* knowledge, understanding

##### Declension
#### Verb

جَاݨ • (jāṇ) (Gurmukhi spelling ਜਾਣ)
* inflection of جَاݨنا (jāṇnā):
** stem
** second-person singular present imperative

### Etymology 3
#### Verb

جَاݨ • (jāṇ) (Gurmukhi spelling ਜਾਣ)
* oblique infinitive of جَاݨا (jāṇā, “to go”)

### Further reading

* Iqbal, Salah ud-Din (2002) “جان”, in vaḍḍī panjābī lughat‎ (in Punjabi), Lahore: ʻAzīz Pablisharz
* Bashir, Kanwal (2012) “جان”, in Punjabi-English Dictionary, Hyattsville, MD: Dunwoody Press
* “جان”, in Punjabi-English Dictionary, Patiala: Punjabi University, 2025
* Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985) “jñāna”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press, page 291

## Sindhi
### Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian جان (jān).

### Noun

جان • (jān) ?
* life; soul

## Torwali
### Etymology

From Sanskrit जन्तु (jantú).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /d͡ʒaːn/

### Noun

جان (ǰan)
* snake

### Further reading

* Torwali, Zubair (2019) “جان”, in Torwali Dictionary (Webonary) (in Torwali), Dallas, Texas, USA: SIL International, published 2020.

## Urdu
### Alternative forms

* جاں (jā̃)

### Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian جَان (jān).

### Pronunciation

* (Standard Urdu) IPA: /d͡ʒɑːn/
* Rhymes: -ɑːn

### Noun

جَان • (jān) f (Hindi spelling जान)
* life (ie. a soul, person)
    Synonyms: زِنْدَگِی (zindagī), حَیات (hayāt), جِیوَن (jīvan)
* spirit, vitality

#### Derived terms

* جان باز (jān bāz)
* جان دار (jān dār)
* جان لیوَہ (jān leva)
* جان نَشِین (jān naśīn)
* جانِ جان (jān-i jān)

## Uyghur
### Etymology

Borrowed from Persian جان (jân, “soul, vital spirit, life”).

### Noun

جان • (jan)
* soul
* spirit
* life
    جېنىم ― jénim ― my dear
* person
* dear
    جان ئانا ― jan ana ― my dear mother