khari9 خارق
Moroccan Darija · adjective
“khari9” (خارق) is an adjective in Moroccan Darija meaning supernatural, prodigious.
Meanings
- supernatural, prodigious
- exceptional, out of the ordinary
Usage
Khari9 describes what goes beyond the ordinary. It is used mostly in the expression 9owwa khari9a (supernatural strength, superpower), common when talking about films, cartoons or a sporting feat. The feminine is khari9a. The register is rather formal, coming from Standard Arabic. For a spontaneous compliment, people more often say wa3er, khatar or mezyan bezzaf. For an English speaker, khari9 corresponds less to "great" than to "superhuman" or "prodigious".
Example
هاد الدري عندو قوة خارقة.
had drri 3ndo 9owwa khari9a.
“This boy has superhuman strength.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khari9” but also “5ari9”, “khare9”, “khaari9” and “5are9”. 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; 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.
Type “khari9” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “extraordinary, out of the ordinary”; “supernatural, miraculous”: 5are9 in Tunisian.