zeft زفت
Moroccan Darija · noun
“zeft” (زفت) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning tar, asphalt.
Meanings
- tar, asphalt
- paved road
Usage
Zeft means tar, the black, sticky substance used to surface roads or waterproof roofs. By extension, it refers to the paved road, as opposed to the dirt track, especially in the countryside: wslna l zeft, "we reached the paved road". The verb zeffet, "to tar, to pave", is derived from it. It can also be heard to describe something very black or sticky. The register is everyday. The figurative sense of "bad, rubbish", known elsewhere, is not the usual Moroccan use.
Example
الطريق ديال الدوار ما فيهاش الزفت
triq dyal douar ma fihach zeft
“The village road isn't paved.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “zeft” but also “zaft”, “zfet”, “zift” and “zfat”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.