jrana جرانة
Algerian Darja · noun
“jrana” (جرانة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning frog.
Meanings
- frog
- toad
Usage
Jrana is the common word for the frog, and sometimes the toad, without the distinction always being made. The usual plural is jranat. The word belongs to everyday vocabulary: it is used for the animal of the wadis, ponds and fields, and when talking to children. It is also used in jokes, for example to tease someone who eats a food considered strange. In some regions, a very big frog or toad may have another name.
Example
فالليل تسمع الجرانات يغنيو فالواد
f lil tesma3 jranat yghenniw f l'oued
“At night you hear the frogs singing in the oued.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “jrana” but also “jrena”, “jrane” and “djrana”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “jrana” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “frog”: jrana in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “frog”; “idiot, empty-headed person (figurative)”: jrana in Tunisian.