ferrouj فروج
Algerian Darja · noun
“ferrouj” (فروج) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning rooster.
Meanings
- rooster
- proud, strutting man
Usage
Ferrouj is the everyday word for "rooster" in Algeria. The hen is djaja and the chick is fellous. Figuratively, ferrouj applies to a man who acts proud or plays the tough guy, often ironically. A well-known proverb uses it: "3ich lila ferrouj wala 3am djaja", meaning "live one night as a rooster rather than a year as a hen". It values a short but dignified life over a long, submissive one. The plural is fraredj. Note: in standard Arabic, farrouj refers rather to a young chicken.
Example
الفروج يصيّح كل صباح بكري.
el ferrouj ysayya7 kol sbah bekri.
“The rooster crows early every morning.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ferrouj” but also “farrouj”, “ferouj” and “ferrooj”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “ferrouj” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “rooster”: ferrouj in Moroccan.