khser خسر
Algerian Darja · verb
“khser” (خسر) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to lose (match, money).
Meanings
- to lose (match, money)
- to break down, get damaged
- to spoil, ruin
Usage
Khser means "to lose": a match, money, a deal ("khserna"). In Algeria it also very commonly means "to break down" or "to get damaged": "tomobil khesret" (the car has broken down), "telephone khaser" (the phone no longer works). The intensive form khesser means "to break, damage". It is also used figuratively: "khesser lmouda" (he ruined the mood), "khesserlou rasou" (he demoralized him). For an English speaker, the pitfall is to see only the "lose" sense when it is often a breakdown.
Example
الفريق خسر الماتش البارح
el ferik khser el match lbareh
“The team lost the match yesterday.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khser” but also “khsar”, “khasar”, “5ser” and “khsr”. 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 “khser” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to lose (match, money, bet)”; “to break down, get damaged”: khser in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to lose (money, match, property)”; “to ruin, spoil (form khassar)”: khser in Tunisian.