zlabiya زلابية
Algerian Darja · noun
“zlabiya” (زلابية) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning zlabia, fried honey-soaked fritter.
Meanings
- zlabia, fried honey-soaked fritter
Usage
Zlabiya is a pastry made of dough fried in spirals or twists, then soaked in honey or sweet syrup. In Algeria, it is inseparable from Ramadan: it is bought in the late afternoon to go with coffee or tea after the ftour. The zlabiya of Boufarik is particularly renowned, and people often say "zlabiya ta3 Boufarik". The seller or maker is called a "zlabji". The word is used as a collective noun: "chrit zlabiya", I bought zlabia. In English, the form "zlabia" is already common.
Example
روح شري الزلابية قبل المغرب
ro7 chri zlabiya 9bel lmaghreb
“Go buy some zlabia before sunset.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “zlabiya” but also “zlabia”, “zlabya”, “zelabia” and “zlebia”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “zlabiya” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “fried honey-soaked pastry”: zlabia in Tunisian.