char3i شرعي
Moroccan Darija · adjective
“char3i” (شرعي) is an adjective in Moroccan Darija meaning legitimate, legal.
Meanings
- legitimate, legal
- lawful under religious law
Usage
Char3i describes what is permitted, by law or by religion. It is mostly used in the negative to denounce a practice: "hadchi machi char3i" (it's not legal, it's not above board). The word is also used in administrative or religious expressions, for example "zwaj char3i" (a marriage done properly). The feminine is char3iya. Depending on the context, the meaning leans toward "legal" or toward "permissible": rely on the situation to choose the translation.
Example
هادشي ماشي شرعي
hadchi machi char3i
“That's not legal.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “char3i” but also “chr3i”, “cher3i”, “shar3i” and “char3y”. 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 “char3i” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “legitimate, lawful”; “in accordance with religious law”: char3i in Tunisian.