3dess عدس
Tunisian Derja · noun
“3dess” (عدس) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning lentils (legume).
Meanings
- lentils (legume)
- lentil soup or dish
Usage
3dess means the lentils you eat. The word is a collective noun: you say "3dess" with no plural, as for a foodstuff. It is a popular winter dish, often in a red sauce or as a soup, and the expression "nchrab 3dess" is heard for hot soup. Note: the English gloss "lenses" is a translation error. 3dess never means contact lenses or optical lenses. For those, people rather say "lentilles" in French.
Example
اليوم طيبت عدس بالخبز.
lyoum tayabt 3dess bel khobz.
“Today I cooked lentils with bread.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3dess” but also “3des”, “adas”, “3adas” and “3dass”. 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 “3dess” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “lentils (legume)”; “lentil dish”: 3dess in Moroccan.