3chra عشرة
Moroccan Darija · numeral
“3chra” (عشرة) is a numeral in Moroccan Darija meaning ten.
Meanings
- ten
- companionship, long-standing bond
Usage
3chra is the number ten in its full form, used on its own or before loanwords (3chra kilo, 3chra dqayeq). Before a plural noun, the short form 3cher is used: 3cher snin, 3cher ryal. As a noun, pronounced 3echra, the word also means shared life and the attachment born of long association: binathom 3echra, "there is an old closeness between them". An ungrateful person is said to have no 3echra. Context easily tells the two senses apart.
Example
تيحت عشرة كيلو
ty7t 3chra kilo
“I lost ten kilos.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3chra” but also “3achra”, “3echra” and “aachra”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.
Type “3chra” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “ten”; “companionship, long acquaintance”: 3achra in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “ten”: 3achra in Tunisian.