تکان

What it means

تکان (tekân) is a noun meaning shake, jolt, or abrupt movement. It entered Persian from Turkic, where related forms carried the sense of stirring or agitation. In modern Persian it is most productive in two compound verbs: تکان دادن (tekân dâdan), meaning to shake something or to set something in motion, and تکان خوردن (tekân khordan), meaning to be shaken, to move, or to flinch. The noun alone can describe a physical jolt, as when a car hits a bump, or a figurative shock. A خانه‌تکانی (khâne-tekâni), literally a house-shaking, is the thorough spring-cleaning that Iranian families do before Nowruz, which shows how productively the root has been absorbed into Persian.

How to use it

• تکون نخور (tekon nakhur) “Don’t move. / Hold still.” (colloquial spoken form)
• ماشین خیلی تکان می‌خوره (mâshin kheyli tekân mikhore) “The car jolts a lot.”
• یه تکون بده (ye tekun bede) “Give it a shake.”
• از جاش تکان نخورد (az jâ-sh tekân nakhord) “He didn’t budge from his spot.”

Cultural note

خانه‌تکانی (khâne-tekâni) is one of the most recognized compound nouns built on تکان. In the weeks before Nowruz, every Iranian household is expected to do a full spring clean: washing curtains, beating carpets, scrubbing floors, and airing out every room. The image of shaking the house clean captures the spirit of renewal that Nowruz demands. Saying خانه‌تکانی کردیم (khâne-tekâni kardim) signals not just a clean house but readiness for the new year.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab