da2ira دائرة

Moroccan Darija · noun

“da2ira” (دائرة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning circle, round shape.

Meanings

1. circle, round shape
2. administrative district

Usage

Da2ira is a formal-register word borrowed from Standard Arabic. It is heard mostly at school, in the media or in administrative vocabulary, where it means a district. In everyday conversation, for a round shape, people more readily say dwwara, "round" (a borrowing from French), or use the verb dwwer, "to turn." The word is feminine. The word "circle" in the sense of a group of friends is not translated by da2ira; say "jma3a" or "shab" instead. The digit 2 in the spelling represents the internal hamza, which many speakers pronounce as a simple y: dayra.

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “da2ira” but also “dayra” and “daira”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 2 is hamza (ء), a glottal stop.

Type “da2ira” on the Arabic keyboard

In Algerian Darja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “daïra, administrative district”; “circle”: daira in Algerian.