rakkez ركز
Algerian Darja · verb
“rakkez” (ركز) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning concentrate, pay attention.
Meanings
- concentrate, pay attention
- look closely, stare
Usage
Rakkez is mostly used in the imperative to ask for someone's attention: "rakkez m3aya" (concentrate, listen to me carefully), "rakkez 3la lkhedma" (concentrate on the work). It takes "3la" or "m3a" ("fi" is rarer). It can also mean to look attentively: "rakkez mlih tchouf" (look carefully, you'll see). It is very often found in teasing and riddles. The corresponding noun is tarkiz (concentration). In the negative, "ma rakkezch" means "I wasn't paying attention".
Example
ركّز معايا شوية، راني نهدر معاك
rakkez m3aya chwiya, rani nahdar m3ak
“Concentrate a bit, I'm talking to you.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “rakkez” but also “rakez”, “rekkez”, “rkez” and “rakz”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “rakkez” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to concentrate, to pay attention”; “to emphasize, to focus on”: rekkez in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to concentrate, pay attention”; “to insist on, emphasize”: rakkez in Tunisian.