mokh مخ
Algerian Darja · noun
“mokh” (مخ) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning brain.
Meanings
- brain
- genius, very smart person
- brains (as food)
Usage
Mokh refers first to the brain, as an organ or the seat of thought: mokhou ma yekhdemch, "his brain doesn't work". In darja it is very often used to describe a brilliant person: rah mokh, "he's a genius", in a familiar, admiring register. It is also heard ironically, or in the negative: machi mokh, "he's no genius". In cooking, mokh means lamb's brains. The plural mkhakh is rare. One also says kla mokhi ("he ate my brain") of someone who wears you out with their talk.
Example
هاد الطفل مخ، يحل كلش وحدو.
had tfel mokh, yhell kolch wahdou.
“This kid is a genius, he solves everything on his own.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mokh” but also “mo5” and “mukh”. 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 “mokh” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “brain”; “marrow (of bones)”: mokh in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “brain; head”; “intelligence, wits”: mokh in Tunisian.