neffakha نفاخة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“neffakha” (نفاخة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning balloon (inflatable).
Meanings
- balloon (inflatable)
Usage
Neffakha means the rubber balloon that is inflated for children's parties or birthdays. The word comes from the root of the verb nfekh, "to blow, to inflate". The plural is neffakhat. For a football, neffakha is not used; it is koura or balon. One says nfekh neffakha for "to inflate a balloon" and terte9 neffakha for "to pop a balloon". The register is neutral to informal, mostly heard in a children's context. The word is pronounced with a doubled f, which some Latin spellings write ff.
Example
هوا طرطق نفاخة
8owwa TerTe9 neffakha
“He popped the balloon.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “neffakha” but also “nffakha”, “naffa5a”, “nefakha” and “neffa5a”. 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.