khamsin خمسين
Algerian Darja · numeral
“khamsin” (خمسين) is a numeral in Algerian Darja meaning fifty.
Meanings
- fifty
Usage
Khamsin goes before a singular noun, like all numbers from eleven up: "khamsin wa7ed", fifty people, or "khamsin 3am", fifty years. Be careful with money. Many Algerians count in centimes, so "khamsin alf" commonly means fifty thousand centimes, i.e. five hundred dinars, not fifty thousand dinars. On its own in a price, khamsin can also refer to an amount in dinars depending on the context. It is always better to ask for clarification.
Example
شريت خمسين خبزة للعرس
chrit khamsin khobza lel 3ors
“I bought fifty loaves of bread for the wedding.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khamsin” but also “5amsin”, “khamssin”, “khamsine” and “5amssin”. 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 “khamsin” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “fifty”: khamsin in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “fifty”: khamsin in Tunisian.