s7ra صحرا
Moroccan Darija · noun
“s7ra” (صحرا) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning desert.
Meanings
- desert
- the Sahara, the South
Usage
S7ra means desert in general. With the article, s7ra very often refers to the Sahara and the southern provinces of Morocco, in sentences like mcha l s7ra ("he went to the South"). The word also appears in tourist expressions, for example rkeb jmel f s7ra ("to ride a camel in the desert"). People from the South are called s7rawa, with the singular s7rawi. The classical form sa7ra' only appears in a formal or written register.
Example
مشينا للصحرا ونعسنا فالخيمة
mchina l s7ra w n3esna f lkhima
“We went to the desert and slept in the tent.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “s7ra” but also “sahra”, “sa7ra”, “s7raa” and “sa7raa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.
Type “s7ra” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “desert”; “the Algerian South, the Sahara”: sahra in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “desert”; “empty, deserted place (figurative)”: sahra in Tunisian.