khech خش
Tunisian Derja · verb
“khech” (خش) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning come in! (imperative).
Meanings
- come in! (imperative)
- to enter, to go in
Usage
Khech is the imperative of khach / ye5ech, the common Tunisian verb for "to enter". People say khech lda5el (come inside) and khech ergod (go lie down). The feminine is khechi and the plural is khechou. The verb is also used figuratively: khach fi 7keya means "he got involved in some matter". The register is colloquial and neutral; it is an everyday word. In a more formal register, od5ol is also heard. Depending on the region, it is pronounced khech or khoch.
Example
خش لداخل، الدنيا باردة.
khech ldakhel, eddenya berda.
“Come inside, it's cold out.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khech” but also “5ech”, “khoch”, “5och” and “khach”. 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 “khech” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “come in! (imperative)”; “to enter, to go in”: khoch in Algerian.