chakl شكل

Tunisian Derja · noun

“chakl” (شكل) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning shape, look, appearance.

Meanings

1. shape, look, appearance
2. kind, sort (plural)
3. to form, constitute (verb, formal)

Usage

Chakl refers to the shape or appearance of a thing or a person. With a pronoun, you get chakl-ou, "his look"; in the question kifech chaklha ?, you ask "what does she look like?". The plural achkal, often pronounced chkal, means "kinds, sorts". It is heard in the expression kol chkal w loun, "of every kind". The verb chakkel, "to form, to constitute", for example a team or a government, belongs mainly to a more formal register, close to Standard Arabic: it is heard in the media more than in conversation. Note: in the dialect, the noun is much more common than the verb.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chakl” but also “chkal”, “chekl”, “shakl” and “chakel”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Type “chakl” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to vary, diversify”; “to form, constitute”: chekkel in Moroccan.