trab تراب
Algerian Darja · noun
“trab” (تراب) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning earth, soil.
Meanings
- earth, soil
- dust
- homeland, native land
Usage
Trab means earth as a material: the ground, building earth, or the dust that makes things dirty. You say "bni b trab" for a building made of earth and "kolchi 3amer trab" when everything is covered in dust. In a more emotional or patriotic register, trab refers to the native land: "trab el bled", "trab el watan". The word is masculine. Do not confuse it with ard, which refers more to the ground one walks on or to a plot of land. It also appears in expressions of contempt or mourning linked to the idea of dust.
Example
الدراري راهم يلعبو في التراب
drari rahom yel3bou fe trab
“The kids are playing in the dirt.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “trab” but also “tourab”, “torab”, “trabe” and “ttrab”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “trab” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “soil, earth”; “dust”: trab in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “earth, soil”; “dust”: trab in Tunisian.