khayeb خايب
Algerian Darja · adjective
“khayeb” (خايب) is an adjective in Algerian Darja meaning ugly.
Meanings
- ugly
- bad, shameful
- disappointed, empty-handed
Usage
Khayeb (feminine khayba, plural khaybin) first means "ugly", for a person, an object or a place. It also takes the moral sense of "bad, shameful", for an act: dar haja khayba ("he did a nasty thing"). In the phrase ma traddnich khayeb ("don't send me back empty-handed"), it means "disappointed, empty-handed". The word is common and colloquial, not vulgar, but it is still hurtful when applied to someone's looks. Its usual opposite is mlih or chbab.
Example
هاد اللون خايب بزاف
had l'loun khayeb bezzaf
“This color is really ugly.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khayeb” but also “khayb”, “5ayeb”, “khaieb” and “5ayb”. 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 “khayeb” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “bad, poor”; “ugly”: khayb in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “ugly”; “bad, poor quality”: khayeb in Tunisian.