khawi خاوي
Algerian Darja · adjective
“khawi” (خاوي) is an adjective in Algerian Darja meaning empty.
Meanings
- empty
- hungry, with an empty stomach
- fasting, on an empty stomach
Usage
Khawi means "empty". It is used for a container, a house, a deserted street or a fridge, and figuratively for a person with no ideas: ras khawi, "empty head". In the Highlands, for example in Laghouat or Djelfa, it also means "hungry", a sense that may surprise elsewhere. On an empty stomach, it means "fasting". Feminine khawya, plural khawyin. The related verb is khwa, "to become empty". The register is everyday, neutral and informal.
Example
الثلاجة خاوية، ما كان والو
tellaja khawya, ma kan walou
“The fridge is empty, there's nothing in it.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khawi” but also “khawy”, “khaoui”, “khaawy” and “5awi”. 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 “khawi” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “empty”; “free, vacant”: khawi in Moroccan.