tomobil طوموبيل
Algerian Darja · noun
“tomobil” (طوموبيل) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning car, automobile.
Meanings
- car, automobile
Usage
Tomobil is a borrowing from French "automobile", fully integrated into Darja. It is the common word for a car. It is feminine: "tomobil jdida", a new car. The usual plural is tomobilat. The variant tonobil is also heard, as well as the word loto, very common in several regions. The standard term sayyara is understood, but it remains more formal and is used mainly in writing or in the media. In daily life, people say "tomobil" when buying, driving ("sog") or parking their car.
Example
شرا طوموبيل جديدة باش يسافر بيها
chra tomobil jdida bach ysafer biha
“He bought a new car to travel with.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “tomobil” but also “tomobile” and “tomobila”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “tomobil” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “car, automobile”: tomobil in Moroccan.