ezzine الزين
Algerian Darja · noun
“ezzine” (الزين) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning beauty.
Meanings
- beauty
- what is beautiful, good
Usage
Ezzine, with the article, means "beauty", especially a person's physical beauty. It is heard in phrases like ezzine machi koulech, "beauty isn't everything". Without the article, zine (feminine zina) is an adjective: "beautiful", but also "good, pleasant". Thus one says nhar zine, "a beautiful day", or qalbou zine, "he has a good heart". The word is common in all registers and often appears in songs and proverbs. So learners should remember that it goes beyond appearance and also describes goodness or quality.
Example
الزين ماشي كلش، المهم الأخلاق
ezzine machi koulech, lmouhim lakhlaq
“Beauty isn't everything, what matters is character.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ezzine” but also “zine”, “ezzin” and “zin”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “ezzine” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “beauty”; “what is beautiful”: zzin in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “beauty”; “what is beautiful, the good”: ezzine in Tunisian.