5ouf خوف
Tunisian Derja · noun
“5ouf” (خوف) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning fear, dread.
Meanings
- fear, dread
Usage
5ouf is the noun for fear. In conversation, the verb "5af" (to be afraid) is often preferred: "5ayef" (I'm afraid), "ma t5afech" (don't be afraid). The noun is used in phrases like "3ayech fi 5ouf" (to live in fear) or "mel 5ouf" (out of fear). It is built with "men": "5ouf men..." (fear of...). For a sudden fear, "5al3a" (fright) is used instead. In arabizi, kh is written 5 or kh depending on habit.
Example
ما نجمش نرقد مالخوف.
ma nnajjamch nor9od mel 5ouf.
“I can't sleep because of fear.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “5ouf” but also “khouf”, “5of”, “khof” and “5off”. 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.
Type “5ouf” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “fear, dread”: khouf in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “fear, dread”; “fear of God (khouf rabbi)”: khouf in Algerian.