bkhir بخير
Tunisian Derja · expression
“bkhir” (بخير) is an expression in Tunisian Derja meaning healthy, well.
Meanings
- healthy, well
- safe and sound
Usage
The word bkhir means "well" or "in good health". It is used mainly when exchanging news: ena bkhir ("I am well") and le-3ayla bkhir? ("is the family well?"). The usual reply is l7amdoullah or bkhir, 3aychek. It also appears in wishes: rabbi ykhallik bkhir, or rja3 bkhir ("come back safe and sound"). In everyday conversation, labes is more frequent for asking or saying that all is well; bkhir is a little warmer.
Example
إنا بخير الحمد لله، وإنت؟
ena bkhir l7amdoullah, w enti?
“I'm fine, thank God, and you?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “bkhir” but also “b5ir”, “bikhir”, “bi5ir” and “bkheer”. 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 “bkhir” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “well, in good health”; “at peace, without problems”: bikhir in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “well, in good health”; “at peace, doing fine”: bkhir in Algerian.