fa5 فخ
Tunisian Derja · noun
“fa5” (فخ) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning trap (for animals).
Meanings
- trap (for animals)
- trap, set-up (figurative)
Usage
Fakh means an animal trap, for example an iron trap to catch a predator or birds. Common phrases are 3mal fakh, "to set a trap", and ta7 fel-fakh, "to fall into the trap". The word is also used figuratively for a trick or set-up laid for someone, notably in commentary on politics or football. It is shared by Derja and Standard Arabic, and is perfectly natural in speech. The plural is fkhekh.
Example
حطّ فخ في الجنان باش يشدّ الطيور
7at fa5 fel jnen bech yched ettyour
“He set a trap in the garden to catch the birds.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “fa5” but also “fakh” and “fekh”. 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 “fa5” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “trap (for animals)”; “trap, ambush (figurative)”: fekh in Moroccan.