khoussoussan خصوصا
Moroccan Darija · adverb
“khoussoussan” (خصوصا) is an adverb in Moroccan Darija meaning especially, in particular.
Meanings
- especially, in particular
Usage
Khoussoussan is used to highlight one item in a list or a situation: "kaybred, khoussoussan fllil", it is cold, especially at night. The word comes from standard Arabic but is very common in darija, both spoken and written. It is generally placed before the item being highlighted. There is a variant, khassatan, which is equally common and means the same. The register is neutral. In more colloquial speech, some speakers also say "bzzaf" or stress the point with intonation. Latin spellings vary a lot, particularly in how the emphatic s is rendered.
Example
لبط زوينين, خصوصا الدكورا
lbeT zwinin, khoSoSan ddkora
“The ducks are beautiful, especially the males.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khoussoussan” but also “khosossan”, “khososan”, “5ososan” and “khosousan”. 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.