frez فرز
Moroccan Darija · verb
“frez” (فرز) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to sort, separate.
Meanings
- to sort, separate
- to tell apart, distinguish
- to pick the best
Usage
Frez means to sort or separate mixed items: spoiled fruit, laundry, papers. It conjugates like a regular verb (frezt, kanfrez, frez!). Figuratively, it means "to distinguish": "ma kayfrezch bin…" (he doesn't tell the difference between…). It is also used for selection, such as sorting candidates or deciding between them. The participle mfrouz means "sorted" or "set aside". The register is everyday and neutral.
Example
فرز الحوايج البيض من الكحلين
frez l7wayej lbid men l k7lin
“Separate the white clothes from the dark ones.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kanfrez | frezt | |
| nta (you, m.) | katfrez | frezti | frez |
| nti (you, f.) | katfrzi | frezti | frzi |
| howa (he) | kayfrez | frez | |
| hiya (she) | katfrez | frzat | |
| 7na (we) | kanfrzo | frzna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katfrzo | frzto | frzo |
| homa (they) | kayfrzo | frzo |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “frez” but also “fraz”, “farraz” and “frz”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “frez” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to sort, to separate”; “to select, to pick the best”: farez in Tunisian.