dez دز

Algerian Darja · verb

“dez” (دز) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to push.

Meanings

1. to push
2. to send, to pass on
3. to let it go, move along

Usage

Dez (or dezz) first means "to push": a door, a person, a broken-down car. By extension, it means "to send" or "to pass on": dez lik, "he sends it to you", a message or a greeting. The fixed expression "dez barka" means "let it go, move along". It is used to tell someone not to insist, sometimes curtly. In the imperative, with a brusque tone, the verb can be equivalent to "get lost". It is conjugated regularly: dezzit ("I pushed"), ydezz ("he pushes").

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “dez” but also “dezz”, “dz” and “dazz”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Type “dez” on the Arabic keyboard

In Tunisian Derja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to push”; “to send (message, money)”: dez in Tunisian.