khlaq خلق
Tunisian Derja · noun
“khlaq” (خلق) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning people, crowd.
Meanings
- people, crowd
- God's creatures, mankind
- to create
Usage
Khlaq primarily means people, the crowd present somewhere. It is very frequent with barcha: fama barcha khlaq (there are a lot of people). It works as a collective, with no separate plural. The expression khlaq rabbi refers to God's creatures, humans in general, often with a nuance of respect or compassion. As a verb, khlaq means "to create", especially of God, and also "to be born" in the passive (tkhlaq, he was born). Note: the sense "mood, desire", as in "ma 3andich khlaq", is rather Eastern.
Example
الشارع اليوم فيه برشا خلق.
ech-chere3 el youm fih barcha khlaq.
“There are a lot of people in the street today.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khlaq” but also “khla9”, “5la9”, “khlak” and “5al9”. 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; 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.
Type “khlaq” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “people, crowd”; “creation, God's creatures”: khal9 in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “people, the world, crowd”; “creatures, God's creation”: khlaq in Algerian.