alf الف
Algerian Darja · numeral
“alf” (الف) is a numeral in Algerian Darja meaning thousand.
Meanings
- thousand
- a great many (emphasis)
Usage
Alf means "thousand". The dual alfin means "two thousand", and the plural alaf is used from three to ten: khamsat alaf. Beyond that, it goes back to alf: 3achrin alf. The word is also used as a hyperbole, as in English: alf merra ("a thousand times"), alf mabrouk ("a thousand congratulations"). When talking about money, people often count in centimes: alf can then correspond to ten dinars, depending on the context and the speaker's age. To avoid any confusion over a price, one sometimes specifies "dinar" or "centime".
Example
قلتلك ألف مرة ما تخليش الباب محلول
9otlek alf merra ma tkhallich lbab ma7loul
“I told you a thousand times not to leave the door open.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “alf” but also “elf”, “2alf” and “alef”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 2 is hamza (ء), a glottal stop.
Type “alf” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “thousand”; “thousands, a great many”: alf in Tunisian.