kalb كلب
Tunisian Derja · noun
“kalb” (كلب) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning dog.
Meanings
- dog
- bastard (insult)
Usage
Kalb is the ordinary word for "dog". Its plural is kleb and its feminine is kalba. It appears in a few animal names, such as kalb b7ar, "shark" or "dogfish". Addressed to a person, ya kalb is a strong insult expressing contempt or betrayal. The feminine kalba is even more offensive. Avoid using it to describe someone, even as a joke. In Tunisian culture, the dog is rarely a house pet, which partly explains how strongly pejorative the word is.
Example
الجيران عندهم كلب كبير في الجنينة
ejjiran 3andhom kalb kbir fil jnina
“The neighbors have a big dog in the garden.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “kalb” but also “kelb”, “calb”, “kaleb”, “kleb” and “kalib”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “kalb” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “dog”; “bastard (insult, figurative)”: kelb in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “dog”; “bastard (insult)”: kelb in Algerian.