tsarref تصرف
Algerian Darja · verb
“tsarref” (تصرف) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to manage, find a solution.
Meanings
- to manage, find a solution
- to behave, act
- to handle, dispose of
Usage
The verb tsarref (with doubled consonant) first means to manage on one's own: "tsarref m3a rassek" (sort it out yourself) is a very frequent, sometimes curt, line. It is also used for a way of acting: "ma 3refch kifach ytsarref" (he doesn't know how to behave). Pitfall in writing: without vowels, the same spelling also stands for "teṣref" (she spends, you spend), from "ṣref" (to spend). This sense is very frequent, as in "teṣref 3liya" (she spends on me). Context decides.
Example
ما عنديش وقت، تصرّف مع راسك
ma 3andich wa9t, tsarref m3a rassek
“I don't have time, sort it out yourself.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “tsarref” but also “tsaref”, “tssarref” and “tasarraf”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “tsarref” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to behave, act”; “to manage, handle a situation”: tserref in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to manage, handle a situation”; “to behave, to act”: tsarref in Tunisian.