zarafa زرافة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“zarafa” (زرافة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning giraffe.
Meanings
- giraffe
Usage
Zarafa is the usual word for the giraffe. It is feminine and takes the article: zzarafa, "the giraffe." It is mostly heard in connection with zoos, documentaries or children's books. As a joke, a very tall person can be called zarafa. This usage is informal, and teasing but not insulting. The most common plural is zarafat. The word poses no particular difficulty for an English speaker.
Example
زرافة شحال طويلة
zarafa ch7al twila
“How tall the giraffe is!”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “zarafa” but also “zrafa”, “zzarafa” and “zarrafa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.