sghir صغير
Algerian Darja · adjective
“sghir” (صغير) is an adjective in Algerian Darja meaning small, little (size, quantity).
Meanings
- small, little (size, quantity)
- young, younger
- short (duration)
Usage
Sghir is the usual adjective for "small". The feminine is sghira; the plural is sghar. It describes the size of an object or a room, but also age: khouya sghir means "my little brother", and waqt sghir "a short time". Used alone, sghir means "child" or "the youngest": ki kont sghir, "when I was little". Its opposite is kbir. The diminutive sghiwer is used affectionately. The adjective goes after the noun, never before. It takes the article when it follows a definite noun: el-bit es-sghir, "the small room".
Example
عندي دار صغيرة في البلاد
3andi dar sghira fel-blad
“I have a small house back home.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sghir” but also “sghire”, “seghir”, “sghiir”, “esseghir” and “essghir”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find صغير and الصغير, all the same word.
Type “sghir” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “small, little (size)”; “young, child”: sghir in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “small, little (size)”; “young, of a tender age”: sghir in Tunisian.