dif ضيف
Algerian Darja · noun
“dif” (ضيف) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning guest, person received as a host's visitor.
Meanings
- guest, person received as a host's visitor
Usage
Pronounced "ḍif", plural "ḍyaf". It refers to a person received at home or invited on a show. Since hospitality is a strong value, you hear "ḍif rabbi" (God's guest) for someone welcomed without prior notice. The word is also used for guests at a wedding or party. The feminine is "ḍifa", a word that, depending on context, can also mean the meal offered. To say "we have guests", you say "3andna ḍyaf".
Example
عندنا ضياف الليلة، روح جيب الخبز
3andna dyaf lyoum fellil, rouh jib lekhobz
“We have guests tonight, go get the bread.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “dif” but also “dhif”, “daif” and “dyaf”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “dif” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “guest, person being hosted”: dif in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “guest, person received in one's home”; “passing visitor, traveller taken in”: dhif in Tunisian.