kar كار
Algerian Darja · noun
“kar” (كار) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning coach, intercity bus.
Meanings
- coach, intercity bus
- bus
Usage
Kar is a borrowing from the French "car", fully integrated into darja. It refers to the intercity coach but also, commonly, to the city bus. Its plural is kiran. You say "rkebt fel kar" (I took the coach) or "el kar ta3 Wahran" (the coach to Oran). The word is masculine and belongs to the everyday register. Pitfall for an English speaker: kar never means a private car, which is called tonobil or loto. For the city bus, you also hear "bis".
Example
رحت لوهران في الكار
rouht l wahran fel kar
“I went to Oran by coach.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “kar” but also “car” and “elkar”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “kar” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “coach, intercity bus”; “bus (in general)”: kar in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “coach, intercity bus”; “city bus”: car in Tunisian.