sel3a سلعة
Algerian Darja · noun
“sel3a” (سلعة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning goods, merchandise.
Meanings
- goods, merchandise
- a trader's stock
Usage
A common trade word, used by sellers, importers and customers: "jabou sel3a jdida" (they got new goods in), "sel3a ta3 ṣṣin" (goods from China). It can refer to a whole batch or a single product, and is generally used without a plural. Quality is often judged with "sel3a mlii7a" (good quality) or "sel3a ta3 walou" (junk). In online selling and import vocabulary, it naturally takes the place of "product" or "item".
Example
جبت سلعة جديدة للحانوت
jebt sel3a jdida l'7anout
“I brought new goods for the shop.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sel3a” but also “sal3a”, “sl3a” and “sil3a”. 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 “sel3a” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “goods, merchandise for sale”; “thing, item (colloquial)”: sel3a in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “goods, merchandise”; “junk (ironic)”: sel3a in Tunisian.