mskin مسكين
Moroccan Darija · adjective
“mskin” (مسكين) is an adjective in Moroccan Darija meaning poor thing, pitiable.
Meanings
- poor thing, pitiable
- kind, harmless, decent
- destitute, without resources
Usage
Mskin expresses mainly compassion: "mskin, mrid" (poor him, he's ill). Placed after a sentence, it is equivalent to the English "poor thing". It also describes a kind, harmless person: "rajel mskin" (a decent man, without malice). Feminine: mskina; plural: msakin. The interjection "a mskin!" expresses pity, sometimes ironically. The sense of material poverty exists, but the dominant idea remains pity or gentleness. It is not an insult, although the tone can make it sound condescending.
Example
ره مريض مسكين
rh mrid meskine
“He's ill, poor thing.”
Forms
| feminine | mskina |
|---|---|
| plural | msakn |
| feminine plural | mskinat |
Forms as recorded in DODa, in its spelling.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mskin” but also “meskin”, “miskin”, “meskine” and “maskin”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “mskin” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “poor thing (compassion)”; “poor, destitute”: meskin in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “poor thing, pitiable”; “meek, harmless, kind”: meskin in Tunisian.