ch3ir شعير
Moroccan Darija · noun
“ch3ir” (شعير) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning barley.
Meanings
- barley
Usage
Ch3ir means barley, a cereal very present in Moroccan cooking, especially in the countryside. Barley flour is used to make khobz ch3ir, a darker bread with a reputation for being healthy. Crushed barley is also used to make dchicha soup or certain couscous dishes. It is a collective noun used without a plural. The word is pronounced with a ch followed directly by the 3, with no vowel between them. In an agricultural context, it is often contrasted with zra3 or gemh ("wheat").
Example
مي كتدير خبز الشعير نهار الجمعة
mi katdir khobz ch3ir nhar jjem3a
“My mother makes barley bread on Fridays.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ch3ir” but also “cha3ir”, “sh3ir”, “chaair” and “che3ir”. 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 “ch3ir” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “barley”: ch3ir in Tunisian.