karrossa كروسة
Algerian Darja · noun
“karrossa” (كروسة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning car, banger.
Meanings
- car, banger
- cart
- horse-drawn carriage
Usage
Karrossa is a familiar word for a car, with an affectionate or slightly teasing nuance depending on the context, a bit like "jalopy" or "wheels". It is readily used for one's own vehicle or an old model one is attached to. Usage is not uniform across the country: depending on the region, people prefer tonobil, loto or sayyara. The older sense of a cart or carriage drawn by an animal survives. The word is feminine: "karrossa jdida", a new car. The usual plural is karrossat.
Example
شريت كروسة قديمة بصح مازالت تمشي
chrit karrossa 9dima bessah mazalet temchi
“I bought an old banger, but it still runs.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “karrossa” but also “karoussa”, “karossa”, “karroussa”, “carrossa” and “karousa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find كروسة and كروصة, all the same word.
Type “karrossa” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “handcart”; “animal-drawn cart”: karrossa in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “horse-drawn cart or carriage”; “baby stroller, pram”: karrousa in Tunisian.