dyafa ضيافة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“dyafa” (ضيافة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning hospitality, welcoming guests.
Meanings
- hospitality, welcoming guests
- meal offered to guests
Usage
Dyafa refers to the welcome given to guests: receiving them, feeding them, putting them up. It is a very strong social value, and a family is said to have "dyafa" when it hosts generously. The word can also refer concretely to the meal or reception prepared for guests. It is related to dif (guest, plural dyaf). It is used in expressions like "jaw 3endna f dyafa" (they came to visit us) or to praise the welcome received. The register is common, with no particular connotation.
Example
الناس ديال البلاد عندهم الضيافة بزاف
nnas dyal lblad 3endhom dyafa bzzaf
“People from the countryside are very hospitable.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “dyafa” but also “diyafa” and “diafa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “dyafa” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “hospitality, welcoming of a guest”; “being hosted at someone's place”: dhyefa in Tunisian.