djazairi جزائري
Algerian Darja · adjective
“djazairi” (جزائري) is an adjective in Algerian Darja meaning Algerian, from Algeria.
Meanings
- Algerian, from Algeria
- an Algerian (person)
Usage
This word works as an adjective ("chab dzayri", a young Algerian) and as a noun ("wahed dzayri", an Algerian). In speech, the common dialect form is dzayri, with the feminine dzayriya and the plural dzayriyin. The form jaza'iri, closer to Standard Arabic, is heard in the media and in formal speech. To refer to the language itself, people often say "ddziri" or "ddarja". The word is neutral and often expresses pride in belonging.
Example
أنا جزايري ونفتخر
ana dzayri w neftakher
“I'm Algerian and proud of it.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “djazairi” but also “jaza2iri”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 2 is hamza (ء), a glottal stop.