khfif خفيف
Moroccan Darija · adjective
“khfif” (خفيف) is an adjective in Moroccan Darija meaning light (weight, intensity).
Meanings
- light (weight, intensity)
- quick, agile
- pleasant, likeable (person)
Usage
The adjective khfif means first of all "light": an object, a meal, a pain, but also a weak tea or coffee. It also describes a quick or agile person, and khfif f lkhedma means "quick at work". The expressions khfif ʿla lqelb and dmmo khfif describe someone pleasant and likeable. With ʿqel, the meaning depends on context: "quick to learn", or on the contrary "scatterbrained". It should not be given the sense of "superficial" without a clear cue. The feminine is khfifa, the plural khfaf.
Example
هز معاك هادشي راه خفيف
hez m3ak hadchi rah 5fif
“Take this with you, it's light.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khfif” but also “5fif” and “khfiff”. 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 “khfif” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “light”; “funny, likeable (dem khfif)”: khfif in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “light (weight, meal, taste)”; “quick, nimble”: khfif in Tunisian.