tajine طاجين
Moroccan Darija · noun
“tajine” (طاجين) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning stew cooked in a clay pot.
Meanings
- stew cooked in a clay pot
- clay dish with conical lid
- tajine, slow-cooked stew
Usage
Tajin means both the earthenware vessel with a conical lid and the dish simmered in it. The contents are often specified with dyal: tajin dyal l-djaj (with chicken), tajin dyal l-hut (with fish), tajin dyal l-kefta. It is an everyday dish, prepared mostly for lunch or the family dinner. The plural is twajen. The spelling is a pitfall: the spelling "tajine" is the most widespread online, but the Moroccan pronunciation ends without an e. One readily says chi tajin for "a tajine" in the indefinite sense.
Example
تشهّيت شي طاجين
tche88it chi Tajin
“I'm craving a tajine.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “tajine” but also “tajin”, “tagine”, “tajeen”, “tjin” and “tajen”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find طاجين and طجين, all the same word.
Type “tajine” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “tajine, slow-cooked stew”; “earthenware cooking dish or vessel”: tajine in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “Tunisian tajine, egg gratin”; “earthenware dish”: tajine in Tunisian.