chka شكا
Moroccan Darija · verb
“chka” (شكا) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to complain, lament.
Meanings
- to complain, lament
- to file a complaint against someone
Usage
Chka (imperfective ichki, "I complain": kanchki) means to complain to someone. Use chka l- for the person you complain to and chka b- for the person you complain about: chka bih l bbah, "he complained about him to his father". The word is used for an oral complaint, a lament about one's situation, but also for taking steps with an authority. The register is common. Be careful not to confuse it with chakk, "to doubt", whose forms look alike in arabizi. The corresponding noun is chikaya, "complaint".
Example
دربني و بكا سبقني و شكا
drebni ou bka sbe9ni ou chka
“He hit me and cried, he beat me to it and complained.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kanchki | chkit | |
| nta (you, m.) | katchki | chkiti | chki |
| nti (you, f.) | katchki | chkiti | chki |
| howa (he) | kaychki | chka | |
| hiya (she) | katchki | chkaat | |
| 7na (we) | kanchkiw | chkina | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katchkiw | chkito | chkiw |
| homa (they) | kaychkiw | chkao |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chka” but also “chkaa” and “shka”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “chka” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
The same word also exists in Tunisian Derja, written شكى, where it means “to complain, to confide one's troubles”; “to file a complaint against someone”: chka in Tunisian.