dawwar دور
Algerian Darja · verb
“dawwar” (دور) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to turn, to make turn.
Meanings
- to turn, to make turn
- to take a stroll, to wander
- to surround, to encircle
Usage
Dawwar is a transitive verb meaning "to make turn": dawwar essaroukh ("turn the key"), dawwar rassek ("turn your head"). Without an object, or in the form ndawwer, it also means "to take a walk" or "to stroll": rani ndawwer chwiya ("I'm taking a little walk"). With 3la, it means to surround someone or something. Do not confuse it with the noun dour ("role", for example in a film), which is written the same way in Arabic without vowels but pronounced differently. The conjugated forms are ydawwer and dawwrou.
Example
دوّر الساروت مليح باش يتحل الباب.
dawwar essarout mli7 bach yet7al el bab.
“Turn the key well so the door opens.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “dawwar” but also “dawer”, “dewwer” and “dawar”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “dawwar” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to turn, to rotate (an object)”; “to stir, to mix by turning”: dowwer in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “turn (in a sequence)”; “role”: dour in Tunisian.