sif صيف
Moroccan Darija · noun
“sif” (صيف) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning summer (season).
Meanings
- summer (season)
- summer holidays
Usage
Sif means summer, the hot season. It is very often used with the preposition "f": "fsif" (in summer). By extension, it also evokes the holiday period, when the diaspora comes back home and weddings take place: "mnin ijiw fsif" (when they come in summer). The derived adjective "sifi" describes what is summery, for example "7wayej sifiyin" (summer clothes). The other seasons are "chta" (winter, which also means "rain"), "rbi3" (spring) and "khrif" (autumn). Note: sif is masculine, unlike "chta".
Example
صيف جاي خاصنا نوجدو ليه
sayf jay khsna nwjdo lih
“Summer is coming, we need to get ready for it.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sif” but also “sayf”, “seyf”, “sayef” and “siif”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “sif” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “summer (season)”: sif in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
The same word also exists in Tunisian Derja, written الصيف, where it means “summer (season)”: sif in Tunisian.