ĥalifo

Esperanto

Etymology

Phonetic derivation from Arabic خَلِيفَة‎ (ḵalīfa, “caliph”) and خَلِيف‎ (ḵalīf, “successor”). As there are many words containing ĥ that have alternative forms replacing it with k, this unofficial form of kalifo may have been created by analogy or hypercorrection.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /xaˈlifo/
Audio (file)
Hyphenation: ĥa‧li‧fo

Noun

ĥalifo (accusative singular ĥalifon, plural ĥalifoj, accusative plural ĥalifojn)

(nonstandard) Alternative spelling of kalifo.

Usage notes

Though unofficial, this form is often preferred to kalifo due to its closer phonetic resemblance to the original Arabic.