khass خاص
Algerian Darja · adjective
“khass” (خاص) is an adjective in Algerian Darja meaning private, personal.
Meanings
- private, personal
- special, particular
- private messages (el-khass)
Usage
Khass describes what is private or reserved: "tomobil khassa" (a personal car), "l-qita3 el-khass" (the private sector). It also means "special, particular": "3andha sihr khass" (she has a special charm). On social media, "f el-khass" or "ab3atli f el-khass" means "in a private message". Note: the same form with a personal suffix (khassni, khassek) expresses need or obligation ("I need", "you must"). This usage is especially frequent in the west of the country.
Example
بعتلي في الخاص
ab3atli fel khass
“Send me a private message.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khass” but also “khas”, “5ass”, “5as” and “khasa”. 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 “khass” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “private”; “particular, special”: khass in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “private, personal”; “special, reserved for”: 5as in Tunisian.