khder خضر
Moroccan Darija · adjective
“khder” (خضر) is an adjective in Moroccan Darija meaning green (colour).
Meanings
- green (colour)
- raw, undercooked
- unripe
Usage
Khder first designates the colour green. The feminine is khedra and the plural khodrin. It also describes food that is not cooked enough: "ddjaj mazal khder", the chicken is still raw. It is also said of unripe fruit. For someone pale or ill, you can say "wjhou khder", his face is green. The pitfall for an English speaker is confusing this word with khodra (vegetables): the vowel differs between the two words, and Latin spellings do not always distinguish them.
Example
هيز شوية عنيب خضر
hiz xwiya 3nib khdar
“Take some green grapes.”
Forms
| feminine | khDra |
|---|---|
| plural | khDrin |
| feminine plural | khDrat |
Forms as recorded in DODa, in its spelling.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khder” but also “khdar”, “khdr” and “5dr”. 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.