khayen خاين
Algerian Darja · adjective
“khayen” (خاين) is an adjective in Algerian Darja meaning thief.
Meanings
- thief
- traitor, disloyal
Usage
Khayen is used as an adjective or as a noun. In Algeria, it commonly means a thief, someone who steals or embezzles; the plural is khouyan. It also keeps the meaning of "traitor", for example in khayen bladou (traitor to his country). Context settles it: about theft, a dishonest merchant or a corrupt official, it is the thief; about loyalty or the homeland, it is the traitor. Feminine khayna. It is a serious accusation: hurling it at someone calls their honesty into question.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khayen” but also “khayan”, “khain” and “5ayen”. 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 “khayen” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “traitorous, disloyal”; “unfaithful (in love)”: khayen in Tunisian.