wakha واخا
Moroccan Darija · interjection
“wakha” (واخا) is an interjection in Moroccan Darija meaning okay, alright.
Meanings
- okay, alright
- even if, although
Usage
Wakha is the most common word in darija for expressing agreement: it is used to answer a request, accept a proposal or close a discussion. It is used in all registers, at home and at work. Said with a questioning intonation (wakha ?), it asks for the other person's agreement: "is that okay with you?". Placed before a clause, it takes a concessive sense, "even if": wakha ma bghitich, ghadi tmchi ("even if you don't want to, you'll go"). In that case it is no longer an answer: it introduces a subordinate clause. It is sometimes doubled, wakha wakha, to cut a conversation short or express impatience.
Example
واخا أ الشاف
wakha a chef
“Okay, boss!”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “wakha” but also “wa5a”, “wakhaa”, “wkha” and “wakhha”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find واخا and وخا, all the same word.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 5 is kha (خ), like the ch in Scottish loch.