chambra شمبرة
Algerian Darja · noun
“chambra” (شمبرة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning room, bedroom.
Meanings
- room, bedroom
- hotel room
Usage
Chambra is the adapted borrowing from French "chambre". It is the most common everyday word for a room in the house, especially the one where you sleep. People say chambra ta3 erraqd (bedroom) or chambra ta3 eddrari (children's room). The usual plural is chambrat. The word belongs to the ordinary informal register and is used everywhere in Algeria. The Standard Arabic ghorfa is understood, but it sounds more formal or written. Only the pronunciation differs from French: the r is rolled and the ending is -a.
Example
رايح نرقد، ماتدخلوش للشمبرة.
rayah nergod, matedekhlouch l chambra.
“I'm going to sleep, don't come into the room.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chambra” but also “chombra”, “shambra” and “chambre”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “chambra” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “bedroom, room where one sleeps”; “room of a house”: chambra in Tunisian.