z3fan زعفان
Moroccan Darija · adjective
“z3fan” (زعفان) is an adjective in Moroccan Darija meaning angry, upset.
Meanings
- angry, upset
- sulky, in a huff
Usage
Z3fan describes a person who is angry or upset. It is often said of someone who leaves or goes quiet out of anger, rather than someone who explodes. The feminine is z3fana and the plural z3fanin. It appears in phrases such as mcha z3fan (he left angry) or rah z3fan 3liya (he's angry with me). The register is ordinary and informal. The corresponding verb, z3ef or tz3ef, means "to get angry." The word conveys well the idea of "leaving in a huff."
Example
واليديا كايسحاب ليهم مشيت زعفان
walidia kays7ab lihom mchit z3fan
“My parents think I left angry.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “z3fan” but also “za3fan” and “ze3fan”. 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 “z3fan” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “angry, upset”; “annoyed, in a bad mood”: za3fan in Algerian.