9erfa قرفة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“9erfa” (قرفة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning cinnamon.
Meanings
- cinnamon
Usage
A spice found everywhere in Moroccan cooking. It flavors sweet-savory dishes such as pastilla, tagines with prunes or quince, tfaya couscous and seffa. It also goes into rice pudding and orange salads. It is bought as sticks or ground from the grocer or spice seller. People often say "9erfa m7ou9a" for ground cinnamon. It is a feminine, uncountable noun in everyday use: "chwiya d l9erfa", "a little cinnamon".
Example
زيد شوية ديال القرفة فالسفة
zid chwiya dyal l9erfa f sseffa
“Add a little cinnamon to the seffa.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9erfa” but also “9rfa”, “9arfa”, “qarfa” and “garfa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.
Type “9erfa” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “cinnamon”: 9erfa in Tunisian.