zouj زوج
Algerian Darja · numeral
“zouj” (زوج) is a numeral in Algerian Darja meaning two.
Meanings
- two
- pair, couple
- husband, spouse
Usage
In Algeria, zouj is first of all the number "two", well before the sense of "spouse". It is placed before the plural noun: zouj khawa (two brothers), zouj ayyam (two days). Unlike Standard Arabic, the dual is rarely used, except for a few words such as youmine. The word can also mean a pair or a couple. The sense "husband" exists, mainly in a formal or administrative register. In daily life, people say rajel or rajli (my husband) instead. The pitfall is to translate it systematically as "husband" when it is almost always a number.
Example
عندي زوج خاوة و أخت وحدة
3andi zouj khawa w okht wa7da
“I have two brothers and one sister.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “zouj” but also “zoudj”, “zoj”, “zawj” and “zuj”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “zouj” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “two”; “pair, couple”: zouj in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “husband, spouse”; “pair, couple”: zawj in Tunisian.