chkleta شكلاطة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“chkleta” (شكلاطة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning chocolate.
Meanings
- chocolate
- chocolate bar
Usage
Chkleta is the most common adapted loanword for "chocolate" in Tunisia. The word is feminine, unlike in French. It refers to the substance as well as to the sweet. For a bar, one says "tablia chkleta"; for a cake or a drink, "gato bel chkleta". It is heard at all ages, in an informal but neutral register. Spellings online vary a lot, because the word is pronounced with an initial consonant cluster.
Example
جيبلي شكلاطة معاك
jibli chkleta m3ak
“Bring me some chocolate.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chkleta” but also “choklata”, “chklata”, “chocolata” and “chakleta”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.