yekhi يخي
Tunisian Derja · particle
“yekhi” (يخي) is a particle in Tunisian Derja meaning so, is it that (question particle).
Meanings
- so, is it that (question particle)
- but, didn't… (surprise)
Usage
Yekhi is a very Tunisian question particle. Placed at the start of a sentence, it turns a statement into a question, often with a nuance of surprise or checking. It can be rendered as "so…?", "is it that…?" or "really, …?". Example: yekhi jit? means "so, you came?". It sometimes marks mild reproach or surprise: yekhi ma qoltlekch?, "didn't I tell you?". It belongs to informal spoken language and is not used in standard Arabic. It requires no change in word order.
Example
يخي مازلت تخدم في نفس البلاصة؟
yekhi mazelt tekhdem fi nafs el blassa?
“So, you still work in the same place?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “yekhi” but also “ye5i”, “yakhi”, “ya5i” and “yakhy”. 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.
Type “yekhi” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “what a…! (admiring or indignant)”; “come on, really (reproach)”: yakhi in Algerian.