mekhlou3 مخلوع
Algerian Darja · adjective
“mekhlou3” (مخلوع) is an adjective in Algerian Darja meaning frightened, scared.
Meanings
- frightened, scared
- stunned, astonished
Usage
Mekhlou3 describes someone who has been frightened or who remains gripped, in shock. It is linked to the verb khle3 (to scare, frighten): khle3tni (you scared me). It is used mostly with rani: rani mekhlou3 (I'm scared, I'm shaken). By extension, it can mean "stunned, captivated", like someone frozen in front of a video or a scene. The feminine is mekhlou3a. The register is informal. Beware of the false friend: in Standard Arabic, makhlou3 means "deposed, dislocated". In darja, the dominant meaning is fear.
Example
سمعت الحس فالليل و بقيت مخلوع
sme3t el hess fel lil w bqit mekhlou3
“I heard a noise at night and I stayed frightened.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mekhlou3” but also “makhlou3”, “mkhlou3” and “mekhlo3”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.
Type “mekhlou3” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “frightened, scared”; “the deposed president (el ma5lou3)”: ma5lou3 in Tunisian.