3ref عرف

Tunisian Derja · verb

“3ref” (عرف) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to know (someone, a place).

Meanings

1. to know (someone, a place)
2. to know (how to)
3. to recognize, realize

Usage

A fundamental verb: 3raf in the past, ya3ref in the imperfect. It covers both "to be acquainted with" and "to know": "na3rfou", I know him; "ta3ref t3oum ?", can you swim?; "ma na3refch", I don't know. In the imperative, "a3ref", know (that), is used to introduce a warning. The passive "t3raf" means to be known, to make oneself known. Careful: with the same spelling, "3arf" is also a noun, the boss or employer, distinct from the verb. The sense "to define", found in the sources, belongs rather to Standard Arabic ("3arraf").

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3ref” but also “3raf” and “a3ref”. 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 “3ref” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to introduce someone to someone”; “to define, make known”: 3erref in Moroccan.

In Algerian Darja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to know, be acquainted with”; “to recognize, identify”: 3ref in Algerian.