khel3a خلعة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“khel3a” (خلعة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning fear, fright.
Meanings
- fear, fright
- panic, alarm
Usage
Khel3a refers to a sudden fear, a fright. A very common expression is tiyyerti-ha menni khel3a, "you gave me a real fright", literally "you made it fly out of me in fright". One also says jatni l-khel3a, "I got scared". The word belongs to everyday informal speech and is related to the verb khle3, "to frighten". For lasting fear or a phobia, l-khouf is preferred. Khel3a rather evokes a start, a sharp and passing emotion.
Example
تيرتيها مني خلعة
tyrtiha mni khl3a
“You gave me a terrible fright.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khel3a” but also “khl3a”, “5l3a”, “khal3a” and “5al3a”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent; 5 is kha (خ), like the ch in Scottish loch.
Type “khel3a” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “fear, fright”; “scary thing, horror”: khal3a in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “fear, sudden fright”; “ugly or scary person (slang)”: 5al3a in Tunisian.