khfif خفيف
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“khfif” (خفيف) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning light (weight, meal, taste).
Meanings
- light (weight, meal, taste)
- quick, nimble
- pleasant, funny (person)
Usage
Khfif (feminine khfifa) describes what weighs little, but also a light meal, a weak coffee, a pale colour or a discreet haircut. Applied to a person, it can mean agile or quick: khfif fi yeddih, "skilful with his hands". The expression dammou khfif, literally "his blood is light", describes someone funny and pleasant. Its opposite is dammou th9il, "he is heavy, a pain". The comparative is built on akhaff, "lighter". At the hairdresser's or in a café, khfif is often used on its own to ask for "not too much".
Example
نحب فطور خفيف الصباح
n7eb ftour khfif sbe7
“In the morning, I prefer a light breakfast.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khfif” but also “5fif”, “khfifa”, “5fifa” and “khafif”. 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 “khfif” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “light (weight, intensity)”; “quick, agile”: khfif in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “light”; “funny, likeable (dem khfif)”: khfif in Algerian.