jiran جيران
Algerian Darja · noun
“jiran” (جيران) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning neighbors.
Meanings
- neighbors
- neighboring countries
Usage
Jiran is the plural of "jar" (neighbor); the feminine singular is "jara". It is used every day to talk about the neighbors in a building or neighborhood, and one also says "nkounou jiran" (to be neighbors). The word also applies to neighboring countries: "7na jiran" can be said of Algeria and a country that shares its border. In colloquial speech, you sometimes hear "wa7ed jiran" meaning "a neighbor", even though the word is a plural. Relations with neighbors play a large part in social life, and expressions that mention them are frequent.
Example
الجيران تاعنا ناس ملاح.
el jiran ta3na nass mla7.
“Our neighbors are good people.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “jiran” but also “djiran”, “jirane”, “jiraan” and “jeeran”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “jiran” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “neighbors”; “neighborhood, neighbors collectively”: jiran in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “neighbors”; “the neighborhood, people next door”: jiran in Tunisian.