sauvage سوفاج
Algerian Darja · adjective
“sauvage” (سوفاج) is an adjective in Algerian Darja meaning ill-mannered, brutal, uncouth.
Meanings
- ill-mannered, brutal, uncouth
- wild (animal, plant)
- unauthorized, makeshift
Usage
Sauvage is a borrowing from French, fully integrated into darja and pronounced "sovaj". It is used above all for a person who is coarse, brutal or uneducated: "rah sauvage", "wa7ed sauvage". It is an informal, fairly sharp reproach, without being a serious insult. It also describes an undomesticated animal or plant. Finally, it describes an informal or unauthorized activity: wild market, construction or parking. In darja, the word is primarily about rudeness or brutality.
Example
هاد الولد سوفاج، ما يعرفش الاحترام
had el wled sauvage, ma ya3rafch el i7tiram
“This boy is a savage, he doesn't know respect.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sauvage” but also “sovaj”, “sauvaj”, “sovage” and “souvage”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.