mahlouk مهلوك
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“mahlouk” (مهلوك) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning exhausted, worn out.
Meanings
- exhausted, worn out
- sick, unwell
- damaged, out of order
Usage
Mahlouk describes someone drained of strength, through tiredness or illness: "mahlouk bel 7omma" (laid low by fever). It is very common in speech, in an informal register. Applied to an object, it means damaged or no longer working well: "el micro mta3 tlifounek mahlouk" (your phone's microphone is shot). The feminine is mahlouka, the plural mahloukin. Note: despite the root, it does not mean "dead". It is closer to "wiped out", "drained" or "done for". It is often used with rahou / rani: "rani mahlouk" (I'm wiped out).
Example
رجعت من الخدمة مهلوك
rja3t mel khedma mahlouk
“I came back from work completely wiped out.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mahlouk” but also “mahlok”, “mehlouk” and “mahlouq”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “mahlouk” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “exhausted, worn out, spent”; “in bad shape, in poor condition”: mahlouk in Algerian.