What does “kullish” mean in Iraqi Arabic?
حوار غيرة بين حبيبين باللهجة العراقية
B2 Arabic listening practice · Levantine Arabic · Picked for people who know more
كلش (kullish) is the Iraqi Arabic intensifier for “very, super, totally.” Among Arabic dialects, every region picks its own intensifier, and kullish is one of the most reliable Iraqi tells. Levantine speakers say كتير (kteer), Egyptians say قوي/أوي (awi), Gulf speakers say وايد (wāyed), and Iraqis reach for kullish. It works like English “super” before an adjective: kullish zēn (“super good”).
This clip is a jealous-couple argument in Iraqi Arabic. One speaker says “عرفت علي وحدة كلش هذا” (“I learned Ali knows some girl, super”) and accuses him of posting her photos. Kullish sets the emotional pitch of the whole exchange.
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Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · OpenSubtitles 2018 (HermitDave) (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.