t5ayel تخيّل
Moroccan Darija · verb
“t5ayel” (تخيّل) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to imagine, picture.
Meanings
- to imagine, picture
- to imagine things, fantasize
Usage
The verb tkhayyel means "to imagine". In the imperative, tkhayyel (feminine tkhayyli) very often introduces a hypothesis, like "imagine" or "picture this" in English: tkhayyel kun..., "imagine if...". The construction ma ymkench tkhayyel..., "you can't imagine...", is used for emphasis. It can also be used for someone who is imagining things or exaggerating: ma tbqach tkhayyel. The register is everyday, understood by everyone, slightly more formal than expressions like dir f bal-ek. The corresponding noun is khayal, "imagination".
Example
وا دابا تخيل كون مشينا فهاداك لياخت كون را حنا عند الله
wa daba t5yel koun mchina fhadak lya5t koun ra 7na 3end lah
“Just imagine, if we had gone on that yacht, we'd be dead by now.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kantkhyyl | tkhyylt | |
| nta (you, m.) | kattkhyyl | tkhyylti | tkhyyl |
| nti (you, f.) | kattkhyyli | tkhyylti | tkhyyli |
| howa (he) | kaytkhyyl | tkhyyl | |
| hiya (she) | kattkhyyl | tkhyylat | |
| 7na (we) | kantkhyylo | tkhyylna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | kattkhyylo | tkhyylto | tkhyylo |
| homa (they) | kaytkhyylo | tkhyylo |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “t5ayel” but also “tkhayel”, “tkhayyel”, “tkhyl”, “t5yel” and “tkhyyl”. 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.