serdina سردينة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“serdina” (سردينة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning a single sardine.
Meanings
- a single sardine
Usage
Serdina is the unit noun derived from the collective serdin: it means one single sardine. It is mostly used for counting or singling out a fish: jouj serdinat, "two sardines". To talk about sardines as food or as merchandise, the collective serdin is used instead. In informal speech, serdina can describe a very thin person, with a teasing nuance. This pitfall is common for an English speaker, who tends to use the unit form where Moroccan prefers the collective.
Example
عطيت للمش سردينة
3tit l lmech serdina
“I gave a sardine to the cat.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “serdina” but also “sardina” and “srdina”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “serdina” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “sardine”: sardina in Tunisian.