frek فرك
Moroccan Darija · verb
“frek” (فرك) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to rub, to massage.
Meanings
- to rub, to massage
- to scrub laundry by hand
Usage
The verb frek is used for any action of rubbing hard: skin at the hammam, a stain, a pot. It very often refers to washing laundry by hand, where you rub the fabric to clean it. That is why it is sometimes translated as "to wash", but the idea of rubbing remains central. It is conjugated regularly: kanfrek, frekti, ghadi nfrek. You also say frek 3inih for "to rub one's eyes". Common register, both casual and neutral. Be careful not to confuse it with similar forms that have different meanings. The object follows the verb directly, without a preposition.
Example
إمتا غادي ت فرك داك تريكو لي تاح لييا فتراب
imta ghadi t frek dak trico li ta7 liya ftrab
“When are you going to scrub that sweater of mine that fell in the dirt?”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kanfrek | frekt | |
| nta (you, m.) | katfrek | frekti | frek |
| nti (you, f.) | katfrki | frekti | frki |
| howa (he) | kayfrek | frek | |
| hiya (she) | katfrek | frkat | |
| 7na (we) | kanfrko | frkna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katfrko | frekto | frko |
| homa (they) | kayfrko | frko |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “frek” but also “frk”, “ferrek” and “frak”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “frek” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to rub”; “to scrub, rub clean”: frak in Tunisian.