3askar عسكر

Tunisian Derja · noun

“3askar” (عسكر) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning soldiers, military.

Meanings

1. soldiers, military
2. army

Usage

3askar refers collectively to soldiers or the army. In everyday language, it often means the military as a visible group: those who guard a place, patrol or set up a roadblock. It sometimes takes on an informal, even pejorative nuance when speaking of forces that surround or control something. It is also used for military service, with the expression "9ra el-3askar" or "mcha lel-3askar" (to do one's service). For a single soldier, one says 3askri. For the institution, the official register prefers jaych (the army).

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3askar” but also “askar”, “3asker” and “el3askar”. 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 “3askar” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “army, military”; “soldiers (collective)”: 3sker in Moroccan.