khaf خاف
Moroccan Darija · verb
“khaf” (خاف) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to be afraid, to fear.
Meanings
- to be afraid, to fear
- to fear (God), to respect
Usage
Khaf is the usual verb for "to be afraid". The object of the fear is introduced by men: "kankhaf men lkelb", I'm afraid of the dog. In the present, the form is kaykhaf, and the imperative is khaf. In "khaf llah", without a preposition, the verb takes a moral sense: "fear God", that is, "be honest". The proverb "lli khaf nja" means that caution protects. To express worry for someone, one says "khaf 3lih".
Example
اللي خاف نجا
lli 5af nja
“Whoever is afraid gets away safe.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kankhaf | khft | |
| nta (you, m.) | katkhaf | khfti | khaf |
| nti (you, f.) | katkhafi | khfti | khafi |
| howa (he) | kaykhaf | khaf | |
| hiya (she) | katkhaf | khaft | |
| 7na (we) | kankhafo | khfna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katkhafo | khfto | khafo |
| homa (they) | kaykhafo | khafo |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khaf” but also “5af” and “khaaf”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 5 is kha (خ), like the ch in Scottish loch.
Type “khaf” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to be afraid, fear”; “to worry about someone”: khaf in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to be afraid, to fear”; “to worry about someone”: 5af in Tunisian.