qari قاري
Algerian Darja · adjective
“qari” (قاري) is an adjective in Algerian Darja meaning educated, having studied.
Meanings
- educated, having studied
- having studied (a subject)
Usage
In Algeria, qari is the participle of the verb qra, which means both "to read" and "to study". Used alone, it refers to an educated, qualified or cultured person (hada wahed qari). It is the opposite of someone who has had no schooling. You can also say what was studied: qari tabib, "he studied medicine", or qari ktab, "he read a book". The feminine is qarya and the plural is qaryin. In this usage the word does not mean "continental", and it has nothing to do with the "bicycle" sense it has in Kuwait.
Example
باباه راجل قاري وفاهم
babah rajel qari w fahem
“His father is an educated, understanding man.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “qari” but also “kari”, “9ari”, “qary” and “gari”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.
Type “qari” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “educated, schooled”; “continental (written register)”: 9ari in Tunisian.