5enzir خنزير
Tunisian Derja · noun
“5enzir” (خنزير) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning pig, pork.
Meanings
- pig, pork
- insult: filthy or vile person
Usage
5enzir means the animal. "La7m 5enzir" means pork, forbidden for most Tunisians to eat. It is mostly mentioned to flag a product to avoid or when talking about foreign countries. Used about a person, it is a strong insult aimed at filthiness or moral baseness. It is much more hurtful than "pig" in English: avoid it, even as a joke. The plural is "5nazir". To talk about cured meats and charcuterie, people often use the French words "jambon" or "porc".
Example
فكّرتوني بالنكتة متاع الخنزير اللي يحبّ يبدّل اسمه
Fakkartouni bennokta mte3 el5enzir elli y7eb ybeddel essmou
“You reminded me of the joke about the pig who wants to change his name.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “5enzir” but also “khanzir”, “5anzir”, “khenzir” and “5onzir”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 5 is kha (خ), like the ch in Scottish loch.
Type “5enzir” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “pig, hog”; “wild boar”: khanzir in Moroccan.