flouka فلوكة
Algerian Darja · noun
“flouka” (فلوكة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning small boat, rowboat.
Meanings
- small boat, rowboat
- fishing boat
- migrant boat
Usage
Flouka refers to a small boat, rowed or motorised, like those fishermen use in harbours and on beaches. The plural is flayek. The word is in general use, especially on the coast. It is also associated with the harga, clandestine emigration by sea: leaving by flouka often evokes the crossing to Europe. For a large ship, babour is used instead. The English "felucca" is related, but it does not refer to the same type of boat.
Example
خرجنا بالفلوكة نحوتو الصباح بكري
khrejna bel flouka n7otou sbah bekri
“We went out in the boat to fish early in the morning.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “flouka” but also “felouka” and “floka”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “flouka” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “small boat, rowboat”: flouka in Moroccan.