zkara زكارة
Algerian Darja · noun
“zkara” (زكارة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning gratuitous spite, urge to annoy.
Meanings
- gratuitous spite, urge to annoy
- deliberate act to taunt
Usage
Zkara refers to harming or annoying someone for no reason, out of sheer contrariness or jealousy. The most common phrasing is dir zkara ("to do it on purpose to annoy") or zkara fik / zkara fih ("to make you fume", "to taunt him"). From it come the verb yzekker (to annoy deliberately) and the adjective zkayri, for a person who puts a spoke in other people's wheels. The register is informal and very common. The word is not translated as "jealousy": it is the act of spite itself.
Example
حبس الطوموبيل قدام الباب غير زكارة فيا
habbes tomobil goddam lbab ghir zkara fiya
“He parked his car in front of the door just to annoy me.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “zkara” but also “zekara”, “zakara”, “zkarra” and “zkaara”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.