khlaq خلق
Algerian Darja · noun
“khlaq” (خلق) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning people, the world, crowd.
Meanings
- people, the world, crowd
- creatures, God's creation
Usage
Lekhlaq (el-khlaq) means "people" in darja, often in the sense of "lots of people": kayen lekhlaq, "there's a crowd". The word keeps the religious sense of "God's creatures", hence the exclamation sobhan Allah ma khlaq, which expresses astonishment at the variety of people or at certain behaviour, sometimes ironically. It must be distinguished from khoulq, "character, good manners", which is written with the same letters. It must also be distinguished from the verb khlaq, "he was born" or "God created". Context makes it possible to tell them apart.
Example
كان بزاف الخلق في السوق اليوم
kan bezzaf lekhlaq fe souq lyoum
“There were a lot of people at the market today.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khlaq” but also “khalq”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “khlaq” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “people, crowd”; “creation, God's creatures”: khal9 in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “people, crowd”; “God's creatures, mankind”: khlaq in Tunisian.