3aref عارف
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“3aref” (عارف) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning knowing, aware.
Meanings
- knowing, aware
- (I/he) know(s)
Usage
3aref is the participle of 3raf ("to know"). It is the most common way to say "I know" or "he knows" about a present state: ana 3aref (I know). The negative form is mouch 3aref ("I don't know"), which is heard constantly, for example mouch 3aref win nemchi ("I don't know where to go"). The word agrees with the subject: 3arfa in the feminine, 3arfin in the plural. Pitfall: it is not conjugated like a verb; the pronoun or the context indicates the person.
Example
ثالثا , نردّواه ضايع موش عارف روحه شكون .
thalitahn , ennrodouh dhaya3 mouch 3aref rou7ou achkoun .
“Thirdly, we make him completely lost, not even knowing who he is.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3aref” but also “3arif”, “a3ref”, “aref” and “3arf”. 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.