lajna لجنة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“lajna” (لجنة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning committee, commission.
Meanings
- committee, commission
- jury (exam, competition)
Usage
The word lajna (or lejna) refers to a group of people in charge of an official task. It is used for administrative commissions, association, neighbourhood or union committees, and exam juries. Its register is rather formal or administrative, but it is common in speech whenever institutions are discussed. For example, "lajna dyal l-imti7anat" for the exam board, or "jat lajna" for an inspection that is arriving. The usual plural is lijan. It is often heard with the verb "dar": "daru lajna", that is, "they formed a committee".
Example
جات لجنة من الوزارة تشوف المدرسة.
jat lajna mn lwizara tchouf lmadrasa.
“A commission from the ministry came to inspect the school.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “lajna” but also “ljna” and “lejna”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “lajna” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “committee, commission”; “examination board”: lajna in Tunisian.