kolchi كل شي
Algerian Darja · pronoun
“kolchi” (كل شي) is a pronoun in Algerian Darja meaning everything, all things.
Meanings
- everything, all things
- each thing
Usage
Kolchi means "everything". This is the two-part form (kol + chi), mostly heard in western Algeria. In the Centre and East, people more often say koulech or kolech, written as one word. It is used alone as subject or object, for example kolchi mlih ("everything is fine") or dda kolchi ("he took everything"). It can also be followed by "li": kolchi li 9alou ("everything he said"). The word is invariable. For "everyone", a different expression is used: ga3 ennass or kamel ennass.
Example
كل شي راهو غالي
kolchi rahou ghali
“Everything is expensive.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “kolchi” but also “koulchi”, “koulech”, “kolech” and “kolch”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “kolchi” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
The same word also exists in Moroccan Darija, written كولّشي, where it means “everything, all”; “everyone (depending on context)”: kolchi in Moroccan.