nou3 نوع
Algerian Darja · noun
“nou3” (نوع) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning type, kind, sort.
Meanings
- type, kind, sort
- variety, quality (of a product)
Usage
Nou3 (or naw3) is the usual word for "kind, sort". It is often used in the construction "nou3 men": "nou3 men el7lawet" means "a kind of pastry". In trade, it also refers to the variety or quality of goods: "wach men nou3?" (what kind? what quality?). The plural anwa3 exists but is more formal. In speech people also readily say "sorte" or "genre", borrowed from French, and nou3 keeps a slightly more neutral tone. "Men kol nou3" means "of all kinds".
Example
هاد النوع تاع التمر غالي بزاف.
had nou3 ta3 tmer ghali bezzaf.
“This kind of dates is very expensive.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “nou3” but also “naw3”, “no3”, “nawe3” and “nou3e”. 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 “nou3” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “type, kind, sort”; “brand, model (of a product)”: nou3 in Moroccan.