kllef كلّف
Moroccan Darija · verb
“kllef” (كلّف) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to cost someone (a lot).
Meanings
- to cost someone (a lot)
- to assign someone a task
Usage
A verb with a doubled second consonant (kellef, ykellef). In the sense of "to cost", it takes the person as direct object: kellfatni bezzaf, "it cost me a lot". It is used for money, but also for effort or tiredness. To ask a price, b chhal or swa are used instead. In the second sense, kellef chi wahed b chi haja means "to put someone in charge of something"; the register is then more administrative. The reflexive form tkellef b means "to take charge of". A mekellef is a person in charge of a mission, a designated person in charge.
Example
هاد الطوموبيل كلّفاتني بزاف
had tomobil kellfatni bzzaf
“This car cost me a lot.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kankllef | klleft | |
| nta (you, m.) | katkllef | kllefti | kllef |
| nti (you, f.) | katkllfi | kllefti | kllfi |
| howa (he) | kaykllef | kllef | |
| hiya (she) | katkllef | kllfat | |
| 7na (we) | kankllfo | kllfna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katkllfo | kllfto | kllfo |
| homa (they) | kaykllfo | kllfo |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “kllef” but also “kellef”, “kallef” and “klef”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “kllef” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to cost (dearly)”; “to entrust someone with a task”: kallef in Tunisian.