kherbech خربش
Algerian Darja · verb
“kherbech” (خربش) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning scribble, scrawl.
Meanings
- scribble, scrawl
- deface by scribbling on
- scratch
Usage
Kherbech means to scribble, especially when a child covers a notebook, a book or a wall with marks and spoils it. The verb is conjugated regularly: kherbech, ykherbech, and the participle mkherbech means "scribbled on, covered in marks". It is also used for illegible handwriting: rak tkherbech, ma tektebch, "you're scribbling, you're not writing". More rarely, it means to scratch. The word is informal and common in several regions, including Sétif. It should not be confused with khbech, which means to claw.
Example
الطفل خربش الكراس تاعو كامل
ettfel kherbech el kerras ta3ou kamel
“The child scribbled all over his notebook.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “kherbech” but also “kharbech”, “5erbech” and “kherbich”. 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.