tjara تجارة
Algerian Darja · noun
“tjara” (تجارة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning trade, commerce.
Meanings
- trade, commerce
- business, commercial activity
Usage
Tjara refers to the activity of buying and reselling, both in the broad sense and in the concrete sense of a small business. One says "ydir tjara" for "he does trade" and "tjara f..." for a specific field, for example tjara f lehwayej (clothes). A trader is tajer, plural tujjar. The word comes from Classical Arabic but is fully current in Algerian speech, with a reduced pronunciation where the first vowel drops. Figuratively, it can criticize someone who profits from everything, including religion: "rak dayer menha tjara".
Example
خويا راه يدير التجارة في الحوايج
khouya rah ydir tjara f lehwayej
“My brother trades in clothes.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “tjara” but also “tijara”, “tijaara”, “tejara” and “tjaara”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “tjara” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “commerce, trade”; “trading, business sector”: tijara in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “commerce, trade”; “business, commercial activity”: tjara in Tunisian.