fakroun فكرون
Algerian Darja · noun
“fakroun” (فكرون) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning tortoise, turtle.
Meanings
- tortoise, turtle
- very slow person
Usage
This is the everyday word for the tortoise in Algeria. It is more common than the standard sulahfat. A feminine, fakrouna, also exists. Figuratively, a person, a service or a connection that is exasperatingly slow is called fakroun. This use is mocking and informal, but not vulgar. The word also appears in place names, such as the town of Aïn Fakroun. These place names should not be confused with the common noun.
Example
راك تمشي كيما الفكرون
rak temchi kima lfakroun
“You walk like a tortoise.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “fakroun” but also “fekroun”, “fakrun” and “fakrouna”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “fakroun” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “tortoise”; “very slow person (teasing)”: fekroun in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “tortoise, turtle”; “slow or dim-witted person (pejorative)”: fakroun in Tunisian.