chou3our شعور
Algerian Darja · noun
“chou3our” (شعور) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning feeling, inner sensation.
Meanings
- feeling, inner sensation
- emotion, sensitivity
Usage
Chouour comes from Standard Arabic, but it is very common in darja for talking about something felt. The typical construction is "jani chouour" (a feeling came to me): one does not say "I have a feeling". It is used mostly for a strong emotion or one that is hard to name. In a more colloquial register, many speakers prefer "ihsas" or the verb "hass / nhess" (to feel). The word is neutral and is used in speech and writing alike, notably in online comments.
Example
كي شفتها جاني شعور غريب
ki chefteha jani chou3our ghrib
“When I saw her, a strange feeling came over me.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chou3our” but also “cho3or” and “shu3ur”. 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 “chou3our” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “feeling, emotion”; “sensation, impression”: cho3our in Moroccan.