kerch كرش
Algerian Darja · noun
“kerch” (كرش) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning belly, stomach.
Meanings
- belly, stomach
- womb (in expressions)
- big belly, paunch
Usage
Kerch is the usual word for the belly or stomach: "kerchi tewja3ni" (my stomach hurts). The phrase "yerham kerch elli jabtek", literally "may God bless the belly that carried you", thanks or congratulates someone by blessing their mother. In another use, "3ando kerch" is said of a person with a paunch. The word is feminine and belongs to the colloquial register, without being vulgar. In butchery, it can also refer to the sheep's paunch.
Example
كرشي توجعني من الصباح
kerchi tewja3ni men sbah
“My stomach has been hurting since this morning.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “kerch” but also “karch”, “kirch”, “kersh” and “korch”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “kerch” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “belly, abdomen”; “paunch, potbelly”: kerch in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “belly”; “paunch, big belly”: karch in Tunisian.