kra3 كراع
Algerian Darja · noun
“kra3” (كراع) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning leg, foot.
Meanings
- leg, foot
- animal trotter (cooking)
Usage
Kra3 means leg or foot. The word is very widespread but colloquial, and sometimes seen as rustic: many speakers prefer rjel in a more polished register. This contrast is often mocked, hence the jokes about "rjel" and "kra3". The plural is kar3in, often with the sense of a dual ("both legs"). In cooking, kra3 refers to sheep's or calf's trotters. Common expressions: kra3i twaja3ni ("my leg hurts"), b kra3ih ("on foot").
Example
كراعي راهي توجع فيا من الصباح
kra3i rahi twaja3 fiya men sbah
“My leg has been hurting since this morning.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “kra3” but also “kraa” and “kra3e”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.
Type “kra3” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “leg”; “foot, animal's leg”: kra3 in Tunisian.