3afsa عفسة
Algerian Darja · noun
“3afsa” (عفسة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning thing, stuff, any object.
Meanings
- thing, stuff, any object
- matter, business, situation
Usage
3afsa is one of the most common words in Darja for a thing whose name one doesn't give, or can't find: it is the equivalent of "thingy" or "whatchamacallit". It is feminine: hadi 3afsa, wahd el 3afsa, chi 3afsa ("something"). It can also mean a matter or a situation: wach had el 3afsa ? ("what's this business?"). The register is informal but neutral, used by everyone. Pitfall: the definition "mess" sometimes attributed to it does not match common usage, where the dominant meaning is simply "thing". Common plural: 3fayes.
Example
عطيني ديك العفسة اللي فوق الطابلة.
3tini dik el 3afsa elli fou9 ettabla.
“Give me that thing that's on the table.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3afsa” but also “afsa”, “3afssa” and “3efsa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.
Type “3afsa” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “thing, stuff (vague sense)”; “matter, situation, business”: 3afsa in Tunisian.