khbar خبر
Moroccan Darija · noun
“khbar” (خبر) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning news, piece of news.
Meanings
- news, piece of news
- awareness, knowledge
Usage
Khbar means "news" in the sense of information you learn: khbar zwin (good news), chi khbar? (any news?). The expression ma 3ndi khbar is very common. It means "I don't know" or "I wasn't aware." The plural is lakhbar, which also means the TV news bulletin. The corresponding verb, "to inform" or "to warn," is pronounced with a doubled consonant: khebber, as in khebberni (let me know). Arabizi often writes the two forms the same way, which can be confusing.
Example
هادا خبر زوين
hada khbar zwin
“That's good news.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kankhbr | khbrt | |
| nta (you, m.) | katkhbr | khbrti | khbr |
| nti (you, f.) | katkhbri | khbrti | khbri |
| howa (he) | kaykhbr | khbr | |
| hiya (she) | katkhbr | khbrat | |
| 7na (we) | kankhbro | khbrna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katkhbro | khbrto | khbro |
| homa (they) | kaykhbro | khbro |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khbar” but also “khber”, “5bar”, “khbr”, “5ber” and “5br”. 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.