khla3 خلع
Tunisian Derja · verb
“khla3” (خلع) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to frighten, to scare.
Meanings
- to frighten, to scare
- to startle, to make someone jump
Usage
In Tunisian, khla3 means "to frighten someone". It is a very common transitive verb: "khla3tni!" (you scared me!), often said when someone shows up unexpectedly. The reflexive form tkhla3 means "to be afraid, to take fright": "tkhla3t barcha" (I was very scared). The noun khal3a refers to a fright. Pitfall for English speakers who know standard Arabic: the sense "to remove, to take off, to depose" from classical Arabic exists in texts and media, but in everyday conversation the sense "to frighten" dominates.
Example
علاش دخلت هكّا؟ خلعتني!
3lech d5alt hakka? khla3tni!
“Why did you come in like that? You scared me!”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khla3” but also “5la3”, “khle3” and “khlaa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent; 5 is kha (خ), like the ch in Scottish loch.
Type “khla3” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to frighten, scare”; “to startle”: khle3 in Moroccan.