khayali خيالي

Tunisian Derja · adjective

“khayali” (خيالي) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning imaginary, unreal.

Meanings

1. imaginary, unreal
2. incredible, extraordinary
3. (fi khyali) in my imagination

Usage

Khayeli describes what belongs to the imagination: qessa khayeliya (imaginary story). In conversation, it often serves as a superlative of admiration: el 3ers kan khayeli (the wedding was incredible). It is also applied to an exorbitant price: soum khayeli. In writing, the same spelling can represent khyali (my imagination), very common in songs: fi khyali. The two must be distinguished by context.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khayali” but also “5ayali”, “khayeli” and “khyali”. 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 “khayali” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “incredible, huge (intensifier)”; “imaginary, fictional”: khayali in Moroccan.