chka شكى
Tunisian Derja · verb
“chka” (شكى) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to complain, to confide one's troubles.
Meanings
- to complain, to confide one's troubles
- to file a complaint against someone
- to report, to file a complaint
Usage
Chka (imperfect yechki) means "to complain". It is used for expressing sorrows and worries to someone close: "nechkilek" (I complain to you, I confide my worries to you). It takes "l-" for the person being complained to, and "bi-" or "3la" for the person complained about: "chka bih" (he filed a complaint against him, he reported him). The noun chakwa means a complaint, including an administrative or legal one. The register is neutral, common both in family settings and official contexts.
Example
واش باش نشكي لك يمّا
Wech bech nechkilek yamma
“What am I going to complain to you about, mom?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chka” but also “chkit”, “shka”, “cheka”, “chkat” and “yechki”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find شكى and شكا, all the same word.
Type “chka” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
The same word also exists in Moroccan Darija, written شكا, where it means “to complain, lament”; “to file a complaint against someone”: chka in Moroccan.