dehka ضحكة
Algerian Darja · noun
“dehka” (ضحكة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning laugh, burst of laughter.
Meanings
- laugh, burst of laughter
- smile, way of laughing
Usage
Dehka is the unit noun derived from the verb dhek (to laugh). It refers to a laugh, a way of laughing, and by extension a smile. A discreet smile is more usually called tbessima, a word that is rarer in speech. It is often used with a possessive: dehktek (your laugh), dehkethe (her laugh). You also say 3andha dehka chaba (she has a lovely laugh). The expression mat bed-dehk means "to die laughing". Pitfall: the English gloss "smile" is too narrow. Dehka refers first and foremost to an audible laugh.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “dehka” but also “d7ka”, “da7ka”, “dahka” and “de7ka”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.
Type “dehka” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “laugh, burst of laughter”; “smile (broader sense)”: d7ka in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “laugh, burst of laughter”; “smile”: dhahka in Tunisian.