khoft خفت
Tunisian Derja · verb
“khoft” (خفت) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning I was afraid / you were afraid.
Meanings
- I was afraid / you were afraid
- to worry about someone
Usage
Khft is the perfect form of the verb "khaf" (to be afraid), conjugated in the first or second person singular. Context is what distinguishes "I was afraid" from "you were afraid". For fear of something, "men" is used: "khft mel kelb" (I was afraid of the dog). With "3la", the meaning becomes "to worry about": "khft 3lik" (I worried about you). The word is very common, in both familiar and neutral registers.
Example
خفت برشا كي سمعت الخبر
khft barcha ki sma3t lekhbar
“I was very scared when I heard the news.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khoft” but also “khft”, “5ft” and “khefet”. 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.