3atriya عطرية
Tunisian Derja · noun
“3atriya” (عطرية) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning spices, spice mix.
Meanings
- spices, spice mix
Usage
3atriya refers to spices in general, those bought from the 3attar (spice merchant) or at the market for cooking. It is mainly used as a collective noun, with no plural: "chri chwaya 3atriya" (buy some spices). The word refers to dried spices, ground or in seeds, not fresh herbs. In cooking, people often say a dish lacks 3atriya when it is bland. Pitfall for an English speaker: the word resembles 3otr (perfume), but it refers to cooking ingredients. Common, everyday register.
Example
الماكلة ناقصتها شوية عطرية.
el makla na9setha chwaya 3atriya.
“The dish is missing some spices.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3atriya” but also “3atria”, “atria”, “3tarya” and “atriya”. 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 “3atriya” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “spices, seasonings”: 3tria in Moroccan.