zlafa زلافة
Algerian Darja · noun
“zlafa” (زلافة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning bowl, deep dish.
Meanings
- bowl, deep dish
- bowlful
Usage
Zlafa (plural zlayef) is the common word for a bowl or deep dish in which chorba, soup, lben or a portion of couscous (ta3am) is served. It is found throughout the casual vocabulary of cooking and meals. It often refers to the contents as much as the container: "zlafa chorba" means "a bowl of chorba". The construction uses no preposition, as in "zlafa ta3am", "a bowl of couscous". It is not a flat plate, which is called tebsi. The word readily evokes a simple, warm home meal.
Example
عمرلي زلافة شربة سخونة
3amerli zlafa chorba skhouna
“Fill me a bowl of nice hot chorba.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “zlafa” but also “zlefa” and “zlaffa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “zlafa” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “bowl”; “bowlful, contents of a bowl”: zlafa in Moroccan.