ykeyèss يكيس
Algerian Darja · verb
“ykeyèss” (يكيس) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to scrub the skin with a hammam glove.
Meanings
- to scrub the skin with a hammam glove
- to exfoliate the skin
Usage
Ykeyyes means to scrub the skin vigorously with the kessa, the rough hammam glove, to remove dead skin after the steam. It is used mainly for the hammam, but also at home in the shower. The verb can be reflexive ("I scrub myself") or transitive: you scrub someone else, for example a child. The occupational noun kiyas or kiyassa, the person who scrubs customers at the hammam, belongs to the same family. The word does not correspond to simple "washing": it always implies the firm motion with the glove.
Example
روحت للحمام وكيست مليح
rowaht l'hammam w keyyest mlih
“I went to the hammam and scrubbed myself well with the glove.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, it is written “ykeyèss”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.