werqa ورقة
Algerian Darja · noun
“werqa” (ورقة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning sheet of paper.
Meanings
- sheet of paper
- leaf of a tree
- papers, documents (plural)
Usage
Werqa means a sheet of paper: a3tini werqa, "give me a sheet". It also means the leaf of a tree or plant. In the plural, lwraq often refers to administrative papers: dir lwraq, "to do one's paperwork, put together one's file". This sense is very common among Algerians in the diaspora. The game "rock-paper-scissors" is called hajra werqa mqas. Note: in the corpus sentences, Werqa is sometimes a place name, as in Hammam Ouarka. The pronunciation is werqa or werka depending on the region, and the q is often written 9.
Example
عطيني ورقة نكتب عليها
a3tini werqa nekteb 3liha
“Give me a sheet to write on.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “werqa” but also “werka”, “wer9a”, “warka” and “waraqa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.
Type “werqa” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “sheet of paper”; “document, official paper”: wer9a in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “sheet of paper”; “document, official paper”: war9a in Tunisian.