n3ja نعجة
Algerian Darja · noun
“n3ja” (نعجة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning ewe, female sheep.
Meanings
- ewe, female sheep
- docile, sheep-like person (pejorative)
Usage
N3ja first means the ewe, the female sheep. The male is the kebch and the lamb is the 3allouch. The usual plural is n3aj. The word is very common in the vocabulary of livestock and of Eid. Applied to a person, it becomes pejorative: it targets someone naive who follows others without thinking or believes everything they are told. It is therefore best avoided when talking about someone. Do not confuse it with the neighbourhood name Aïn Naâdja in Algiers, very frequent in online messages.
Example
شرى نعجة وزوج علالش للعيد
chra n3ja w zouj 3lalech l'3id
“He bought an ewe and two lambs for Eid.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “n3ja” but also “naaja”, “na3ja”, “n3dja” and “naadja”. 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 “n3ja” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “ewe, female sheep”; “docile, passive person”: n3ja in Moroccan.