wkkel وكّل
Moroccan Darija · verb
“wkkel” (وكّل) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to feed, to give food to.
Meanings
- to feed, to give food to
- to feed (a child, a sick person)
Usage
Wekkel is the causative form of kla (to eat): it means "to make eat", hence to feed. It is used for animals, as in "wekkel lmach" (feed the cat), but also for a baby or a sick person. The construction is direct: the object follows without a preposition, and what is given is introduced by b: "wekklou b lmghrafa" (feed him with a spoon). The doubled k is essential: without it, you get a different word. Do not confuse it with wekkel in the sense of "to appoint as a proxy".
Example
سير وكلّ لفراخ
sir wkkel lfrakh
“Go feed the chicks.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kanwkkel | wkkelt | |
| nta (you, m.) | katwkkel | wkkelti | wkkel |
| nti (you, f.) | katwkkli | wkkelti | wkkli |
| howa (he) | kaywkkel | wkkel | |
| hiya (she) | katwkkel | wkklat | |
| 7na (we) | kanwkklo | wkklna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katwkklo | wkkelto | wkklo |
| homa (they) | kaywkklo | wkklo |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “wkkel” but also “wekkel”, “wakkel”, “wkel” and “wekel”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “wkkel” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to feed, make eat”; “to feed an animal”: wakkel in Algerian.