sel3a سلعة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“sel3a” (سلعة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning goods, merchandise for sale.
Meanings
- goods, merchandise for sale
- thing, item (colloquial)
Usage
Sel3a is the usual word for the goods of a shopkeeper, a souk or a warehouse. It is most often used as a collective singular with a plural meaning: "jab s-sel3a" means "he brought the goods". The plural sel3 or sla3 exists but is less common. Usual phrases are "sel3a mzyana" (good quality) and "sel3a ghalya" (expensive). In colloquial speech, the word can also mean any random thing or a quality product.
Example
مشات جيب سلعة
mchat djib sel3a
“She went to get some goods.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sel3a” but also “sl3a”, “sil3a” and “sal3a”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.
Type “sel3a” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “goods, merchandise”; “a trader's stock”: sel3a in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “goods, merchandise”; “junk (ironic)”: sel3a in Tunisian.