5orba خربة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“5orba” (خربة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning mess, rotten situation.
Meanings
- mess, rotten situation
- ruin, dilapidated place
Usage
5orba (or 5erba) originally means "ruin", but in Tunisian it is used mostly figuratively for a chaotic, badly managed or unbearable situation. Typical expressions are wallet 5orba ("it's become a mess") and mella 5orba! ("what a mess!"), used to complain about the administration, the country, a failed party or a place in disorder. The register is informal and exasperated, but not vulgar. It can also be used for a dilapidated house or car.
Example
الإدارة ولات خربة، حتى حد ما يجاوبك
el idara wallet 5orba, 7atta 7ad ma yjewbek
“The administration has become a mess, nobody answers you.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “5orba” but also “5erba”, “khorba”, “kharba” and “5arba”. 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.