ma3dnous معدنوس
Algerian Darja · noun
“ma3dnous” (معدنوس) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning parsley.
Meanings
- parsley
Usage
This is the everyday name for parsley in Algeria, bought in bunches at the market along with coriander ("kosbor"), mint ("na3na3") or celery ("krafess"). The word is masculine and is often used without an article in shopping lists: "jib ma3dnous", "bring some parsley". Parsley is used in chorba, stuffings, salads and chtitha. Pronunciation varies by region: "ma3dnous", "m3adnous" or "ma3danous". The literary term "baqdounis" is understood but rare in speech.
Example
روح جيبلي حزمة معدنوس من السوق
rou7 jibli 7azmet ma3dnous men souq
“Go get me a bunch of parsley from the market.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ma3dnous” but also “m3adnous”, “ma3danous”, “maadnous” and “ma3dnouss”. 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 “ma3dnous” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “parsley”: ma3dnous in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “parsley”: ma3dnous in Tunisian.