akhbar اخبار
Algerian Darja · noun
“akhbar” (اخبار) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning news (of someone).
Meanings
- news (of someone)
- news, current events
Usage
Akhbar (often khbar) is the plural of khbar or khabar, "news". Its most common use is in the greeting "wach akhbarek?" (how are you?, literally "what is your news?"), which becomes "akhbarkoum" for several people. It is also used to ask about a matter or situation: "wach akhbar el khedma?" (so how's work going?). In the sense of current events, one speaks of the akhbar on television or on the internet. The expected reply to the greeting is usually "labas, el hamdoullah".
Example
واش أخبارك؟ راك لاباس؟
wach akhbarek? rak labas?
“How are you? Are you doing well?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “akhbar” but also “khbar”, “a5bar” and “5bar”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 5 is kha (خ), like the ch in Scottish loch.
Type “akhbar” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “news, information”; “news broadcast”: akhbar in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “news, current events”; “how someone is doing”: a5bar in Tunisian.