chra شرا
Moroccan Darija · verb
“chra” (شرا) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to buy.
Meanings
- to buy
- to buy for someone
- to get, to pay for
Usage
Chra is the usual verb for "to buy". The present is ychri, the imperative is chri and the participle is chari. With the preposition l, it means "to buy for someone": chra liya, "he bought me", which can also be understood as "he bought me (as a gift)". The expression ba3 w chra, literally "sell and buy", refers to trade and, figuratively, to haggling. The ambiguity of chra liya deserves attention: depending on the context, the object is either a gift or something bought on someone's behalf.
Example
شرا ليا دار
chra liya dar
“He bought me a house.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kanchri | chrit | |
| nta (you, m.) | katchri | chriti | chri |
| nti (you, f.) | katchri | chriti | chri |
| howa (he) | kaychri | chra | |
| hiya (she) | katchri | chrat | |
| 7na (we) | kanchriw | chrina | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katchriw | chrito | chriw |
| homa (they) | kaychriw | chraw |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chra” but also “shra”, “chera”, “chraa”, “chrit” and “chri”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find شرا and شرى, all the same word.
Type “chra” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to buy”; “to obtain, acquire”: chra in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
The same word also exists in Tunisian Derja, written شرى, where it means “to buy, obtain for money”; “to buy someone off, bribe”: chra in Tunisian.