3erref عرّف
Moroccan Darija · verb
“3erref” (عرّف) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to introduce someone to someone.
Meanings
- to introduce someone to someone
- to define, make known
Usage
With the middle consonant doubled, 3erref means "to make known". The most common use is "to introduce someone": 3errefni 3la sahbek, "introduce me to your friend". In a more academic register, it means "to define" a term or a field. It should not be confused with 3ref, without doubling, which means "to know". In Arabic script the shadda is often omitted, and the two verbs then look identical. Only pronunciation distinguishes them. The participle m3erref means "defined", and also "known".
Example
عرّفني على صاحبك، ما كانعرفوش.
3errefni 3la sahbek, ma kan3rfouch.
“Introduce me to your friend, I don't know him.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kan3rrf | 3rrft | |
| nta (you, m.) | kat3rrf | 3rrfti | 3rrf |
| nti (you, f.) | kat3rrfi | 3rrti | 3rrfi |
| howa (he) | kay3rrf | 3rrf | |
| hiya (she) | kat3rrf | 3rrfat | |
| 7na (we) | kan3rrfo | 3rrfna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | kat3rrfo | 3rrfto | 3rrfo |
| homa (they) | kay3rrfo | 3rrfo |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3erref” but also “3rref”, “3arref”, “3rrf”, “3arraf” and “3arrf”. 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 “3erref” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to know, be acquainted with”; “to recognize, identify”: 3ref in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to know (someone, a place)”; “to know (how to)”: 3ref in Tunisian.