d7ka ضحكة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“d7ka” (ضحكة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning laugh, burst of laughter.
Meanings
- laugh, burst of laughter
- smile (broader sense)
Usage
D7ka is the unit noun derived from d7ek: it refers to one laugh, or a way of laughing. One says 3ndha d7ka zwina for "she has a lovely laugh." The expression d7ka sfra means a forced, hollow laugh. The word is sometimes used for a smile, but the proper term for "smile" is tbessima. The plural is d7kat. For a fit of laughter, one says rather tfergea3 b d7k or mat b d7k ("to die laughing"), with the verbal noun d7k.
Example
عندها ضحكة زوينة بزاف
3ndha d7ka zwina bzaf
“She has a very lovely laugh.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “d7ka” but also “de7ka”, “dahka” and “d7ke”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.
Type “d7ka” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “laugh, burst of laughter”; “smile, way of laughing”: dehka in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “laugh, burst of laughter”; “smile”: dhahka in Tunisian.