wsef وصف

Algerian Darja · verb

“wsef” (وصف) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to describe, depict.

Meanings

1. to describe, depict
2. to give directions (a way, a place)
3. description (noun)

Usage

Wsef is used as in English to describe a person, an object or a situation. In the imperative with a pronoun, wsefli ("describe to me") is also used to ask for directions: wsefli ttriq. The word comes from classical Arabic and sounds slightly more formal than casual phrasings like goulli kifach ("tell me how"). Used as a noun, wesf means a description. Online, it is often seen in "el-wesf ta3 el-video", the description under a video. The verb is conjugated regularly: nwesfek, wesfet, ywesfou.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “wsef” but also “wesf”, “wasf”, “wsf” and “wassef”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Type “wsef” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to describe”; “to give directions”: wsef in Moroccan.

In Tunisian Derja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to describe, depict”; “description (noun wasf)”: wsef in Tunisian.