mokh مخ
Moroccan Darija · noun
“mokh” (مخ) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning brain.
Meanings
- brain
- marrow (of bones)
- brains, intelligence
Usage
Mokh first means the brain, the organ. In cooking, it also means animal brains, and mokh l3dam is bone marrow. Figuratively, it refers to intelligence or the way of thinking. For example, 3endu mokh means "he's clever". Conversely, ma 3endu mokh means "he has nothing in his head". People also say kla lia mokhkhi, "he's done my head in". In everyday use, the word is very close to ras ("head"), which is more often used when talking about thinking.
Example
هاد الدري عندو المخ
had drri 3endo lmokh
“This boy is smart.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mokh” but also “mo5”, “mukh” and “mokhkh”. 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 “mokh” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “brain”; “genius, very smart person”: mokh in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “brain; head”; “intelligence, wits”: mokh in Tunisian.