kilo كيلو
Tunisian Derja · noun
“kilo” (كيلو) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning kilogram.
Meanings
- kilogram
- kilometre (colloquial)
Usage
The word kilo is an adapted loanword in daily use, especially at the market and in shops. It stays invariable after numbers: zouz kilo, tletha kilo. For a fraction, one says nos kilo ("half a kilo") or rob3 kilo ("a quarter of a kilo"). The construction 9addech mel kilo? ("how many kilos?") is common. In a context of distance, kilo can also mean "kilometre", as in colloquial French. Context is usually enough to remove the ambiguity.
Example
اعطيني كيلو طماطم ونص كيلو بصل
a3tini kilo tmatem w nos kilo bsal
“Give me a kilo of tomatoes and half a kilo of onions.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “kilo” but also “kelo”, “kilou”, “kylo”, “klg” and “kg”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find كيلو and كلغ, all the same word.