mgharfa مغرف
Algerian Darja · noun
“mgharfa” (مغرف) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning spoon.
Meanings
- spoon
- spoonful
- ladle
Usage
The usual word for spoon is feminine: "mgharfa" in the singular, "mghaaref" in the plural. The spelling without an ending often corresponds to the plural, or to a shortened spelling of the singular. It refers both to the utensil and to its contents: "mgharfa ta3 3sel", "a spoonful of honey". For a teaspoon, people commonly say "mgharfa sghira". Mind the agreement: say "mgharfa kbira", in the feminine. The word belongs to everyday language and is used with no particular nuance of register.
Example
عطيني مغرفة باش ناكل الشربة
3tini mgharfa bach nakoul chorba
“Give me a spoon so I can eat the chorba.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mgharfa” but also “m8arfa”, “mgharef”, “mghorfa” and “mghrfa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find مغرف and مغرفة, all the same word.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 8 is light ha (ه) or ghayn (غ), depending on the writer.
Type “mgharfa” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “ladle, large serving spoon”: mgharf in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
The same word also exists in Tunisian Derja, written مغرفة, where it means “spoon”; “spoonful (measure)”: mgharfa in Tunisian.