derf ظرف
Moroccan Darija · noun
“derf” (ظرف) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning circumstance, situation.
Meanings
- circumstance, situation
- envelope
Usage
Ḍerf is used mostly in the plural, ḍruf, to talk about someone's situation, especially their material one: "ḍrufu ṣ3iba" means that his situation is difficult. In the singular, it appears in expressions like "f had ḍ-ḍerf" (in these circumstances). The same word also means the envelope of a letter or one that holds money. Context distinguishes the two senses. For "envelope", one also hears "l-ɣlaf" or the French "enveloppe".
Example
الظروف ديالو صعيبة هاد الأيام
d-druf dyalo s3iba had l-iyam
“His circumstances are difficult these days.”
Forms
| plural | Dorouf |
|---|
Forms as recorded in DODa, in its spelling.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “derf” but also “darf”, “dorf”, “druf” and “dorouf”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “derf” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “span of time (fi dhorf: within)”; “circumstance, situation”: dhorf in Tunisian.