driya درية
Moroccan Darija · noun
“driya” (درية) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning girl, young woman.
Meanings
- girl, young woman
- little girl, child
Usage
Derriya is the feminine of derri. It means a girl, whether a child or a young woman. Its plural is derriyat, or more often bnat. Among young people, it is equivalent to "a chick" or "a girl" when talking about a girlfriend or a girl one likes. The word belongs to the colloquial, everyday register. Depending on the tone, it can sound a bit cavalier when talking about an adult woman: in a respectful context, bent or mra is preferred. It is often found in the construction wa7ed derriya, "a girl".
Example
مشيت خطبت واحد درية مورا ما دوزنا خمس شهور مع بعضياتنا
mchit 5tebt wa7ed driya mora ma dewezna 5emss chhour m3a b3diyatna
“I went and asked for a girl's hand in marriage after we had spent five months together.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “driya” but also “derriya”, “drriya” and “dria”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.