cha9our شاقور
Algerian Darja · noun
“cha9our” (شاقور) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning butcher's cleaver.
Meanings
- butcher's cleaver
- axe
Usage
Chaqour, or chaqoura, is the butcher's cleaver, used to cut meat and bones. It is also used more broadly for an axe. The word is very common at Eid al-Adha, when the sheep is cut up at home. The register is everyday and concrete. Depending on the region, mezzebra is also heard. The 9 in arabizi marks the "q" sound of the word. Do not confuse it with chakour, the dialectal form of the given name Chakour.
Example
جيب الشاقور باش نقطعو العظم
jib cha9our bach n9at3ou l3dham
“Bring the cleaver so we can cut the bone.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “cha9our” but also “chaqour”, “chakour”, “cha9oura” and “chaqoura”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.