khir خير
Algerian Darja · noun
“khir” (خير) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning good, what is good.
Meanings
- good, what is good
- better
- prosperity, abundance
Usage
Khir refers to good in both the moral and the material sense. It appears in many formulas: sbah el khir ("good morning"), tesahel koul khir ("you deserve all the good"), dir el khir ("do good"). Used alone with a questioning tone, khir? means "what's the matter?", often with worry: khir, wach sra? As a comparative, khir men means "better than": hadi khir men hadik. The formula ghir el khir ("nothing but good") is used to reassure. The word is very positive and common in all registers.
Example
الخدمة هادي خير من لوخرى
lkhedma hadi khir men lokhra
“This job is better than the other one.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khir” but also “khiir”, “kheir”, “khayr” and “5ir”. 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 “khir” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “good, favor, kindness”; “plenty, prosperity, provisions”: khir in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “better, preferable”; “good, well-being, blessing”: 5ir in Tunisian.