ibra إبرة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“ibra” (إبرة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning sewing needle.
Meanings
- sewing needle
- injection, shot
Usage
Ibra means the sewing needle. It is often used together with thread, as in ibra w lkhit. In everyday medical language, ibra also means the injection itself. So one says dar lih ibra, "he gave him an injection", or dreb ibra, "to get an injection". The plural is ibari. Depending on context, you therefore have to understand either the object or the act. In the sense of injection, you also hear the French word piqûre, adapted in pronunciation.
Example
عطيني الإبرة والخيط
3tini l'ibra w lkhit
“Give me the needle and thread.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ibra” but also “ebra” and “ibraa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “ibra” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “sewing needle”; “syringe needle, injection”: ibra in Tunisian.