3erq عرق
Algerian Darja · noun
“3erq” (عرق) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning vein, blood vessel.
Meanings
- vein, blood vessel
- nerve, tendon (common usage)
- root (of a plant)
Usage
3erq (plural 3rouq) means a vein. In popular usage, it also covers nerves and tendons. It appears in colorful expressions: baqili 3erq w nmout ("I have one vein left and I die"), meaning one can't take any more, often from laughing. Ytqatta3lek 3erq means "a vein is going to give out on you", from effort or anger. The word also means the root of a plant and, figuratively, family origins. Be careful not to confuse it with 3reg, sweat, which is pronounced differently.
Example
ضحكت حتى حسيت عرق تقطع فيا.
dhakt hatta hassit 3erq tqatta3 fiya.
“I laughed so much that I felt a vein give way.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3erq” but also “3rq”, “3erg”, “erq” and “3ereq”. 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 “3erq” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “vein, blood vessel”; “sweat”: 3er9 in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “vein, blood vessel”; “sweat, perspiration”: 3er9 in Tunisian.