3ser عصر
Algerian Darja · verb
“3ser” (عصر) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to squeeze, to wring out.
Meanings
- to squeeze, to wring out
- to force oneself (3ser rouhou)
Usage
The verb 3ser means "to squeeze" or "to wring out". It is used for a lemon, an orange or a mop cloth: 3ser limouna, 3ser el kouffa. With the reflexive rouhou, rouhha, etc., it takes a figurative sense: "to force oneself", "to make a visible effort", for example when an actor overacts. Do not confuse it with the noun el 3asr, which refers to the afternoon prayer, or with 3asr "era", a Standard Arabic word found mainly in writing. The imperative is o3ser, the present ya3ser.
Example
عصرت الحوايج وعلّقتهم
3sert lehwayej w 3elleqthom
“I wrung out the laundry and hung it up.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3ser” but also “3sar”, “3sser”, “asser” and “3asr”. 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 “3ser” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to squeeze, wring out”; “afternoon, asr prayer”: 3sar in Tunisian.