chouari شواري
Algerian Darja · noun
“chouari” (شواري) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning double pack basket (donkey, mule).
Meanings
- double pack basket (donkey, mule)
- large two-pocket bag
Usage
Chouari means the large double basket, often woven from esparto grass or dwarf palm, placed on the back of a donkey or mule, with one pocket on each side. It is used to carry harvests, fodder, shopping or water. The word belongs mostly to the rural world and evokes a traditional way of life; in towns it is known but little used. It is also heard in figurative expressions, for example to talk about a heavy load. Do not confuse it with couffa, the single-pocket basket.
Example
حط الخضرة في الشواري و ركبها على الحمار
hat lkhodra fel chouari w rakebha 3la lhmar
“He put the vegetables in the double basket and loaded it onto the donkey.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chouari” but also “chwari”, “chouaria” and “shwari”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.