ferda فردة

Algerian Darja · noun

“ferda” (فردة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning one item of a pair (shoe, sock).

Meanings

1. one item of a pair (shoe, sock)
2. one's match, counterpart (in the expression)

Usage

Ferda refers to just one of the two items of a pair, especially a shoe, a sock or an earring: you say ferda wahda for "a single shoe". The plural ferdat is also heard. The word is very much alive in the figurative expression ferda w lgat khtha, "the shoe has found its sister". It is said of two people who resemble each other or get along perfectly, often ironically, for example of a couple or of two friends who are equally eccentric. The word does not refer to a single isolated person. The meaning "young man", sometimes cited, is not confirmed in everyday usage.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

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

Type “ferda” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “one item of a pair”; “single shoe or sock”: ferda in Moroccan.

In Tunisian Derja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “one of a pair (shoe, sock)”: farda in Tunisian.

How to say “one of a pair” in Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian