chra شرا
Algerian Darja · verb
“chra” (شرا) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to buy.
Meanings
- to buy
- to obtain, acquire
Usage
Chra is the ordinary verb for "to buy" in Algeria, in all registers. In the present tense it is yechri, in the imperative echri, and in the first person past chrit. The price is introduced with the preposition b-: chraha b khamsa alaf, "he bought it for five thousand". To say "to buy for someone", use l-: chrali, "he bought me". The corresponding noun is chra, "purchase", as opposed to bi', "sale". Pitfall: the Arabic spelling ends in an alif, but the present tense is conjugated with a final -i (yechri).
Example
شريت الخبز من عند الحانوت تاع الحومة.
chrit lkhobz men 3and l7anout ta3 l7ouma.
“I bought bread from the neighborhood grocery store.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chra” but also “chera”, “shra” and “cheri”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “chra” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to buy”; “to buy for someone”: chra in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
The same word also exists in Tunisian Derja, written شرى, where it means “to buy, obtain for money”; “to buy someone off, bribe”: chra in Tunisian.