3roubi عروبي
Moroccan Darija · noun
“3roubi” (عروبي) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning person from the countryside, rural.
Meanings
- person from the countryside, rural
- bumpkin, hick (pejorative)
Usage
3roubi first refers to someone who comes from the countryside, as opposed to the city dweller (beldi, mdini). The feminine is 3roubiya, the plural 3roubiya or 3rab. The same word, l3roubiya, also refers to the countryside itself: "mcha l l3roubiya," "he went to the countryside." In the mouth of a city dweller, 3roubi easily takes on a mocking sense: "boor," "lacking manners." Tone and context therefore decide whether it is a simple statement of origin or a jibe. Pitfall: the word does not mean "Arab" in the ethnic sense, which is rather said 3arbi.
Example
هو عروبي، جا من الدوار باش يخدم فكازا
howa 3roubi, ja men ddouar bach ykhdem f casa
“He's a country boy, he came from the village to work in Casablanca.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3roubi” but also “3robi”, “aroubi”, “3rubi” and “3roubiya”. 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 “3roubi” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “rural person, countryman”; “bumpkin (pejorative)”: 3roubi in Tunisian.