ghriba غريبة
Algerian Darja · adjective
“ghriba” (غريبة) is an adjective in Algerian Darja meaning strange, weird (feminine).
Meanings
- strange, weird (feminine)
- foreign, unfamiliar
Usage
Ghriba is the feminine of ghrib (masculine). It is very often used to describe a surprising thing, situation or remark: "7aja ghriba" (a strange thing), "kelma ghriba" (an unfamiliar, unusual word). Said of a person, it can mean someone odd or someone who is a stranger to the place, neither family nor from the neighbourhood. The usual plural is ghrab or ghribin, depending on context. The register is neutral, used in speech and writing alike. The pitfall is mixing up two meanings: "strange" in the sense of odd, and "foreign" in the sense of coming from elsewhere.
Example
حاجة غريبة، ما جاش اليوم.
7aja ghriba, ma jach lyoum.
“Strange, he didn't come today.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ghriba” but also “ghariba”, “ghribaa” and “ghreeba”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “ghriba” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “strange (feminine)”; “strange thing”: ghriba in Moroccan.