9ar3a قرعة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“9ar3a” (قرعة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning bottle.
Meanings
- bottle
- a zucchini
- draw, lottery
Usage
9ar3a commonly means a bottle, plastic or glass: 9ar3a ma, "a bottle of water", 9ar3a zit, "a bottle of oil". The plural is 9ra3i or 9ra3at. It is also the singular unit noun of 9ra3, hence "a zucchini" or a zucchini salad. The third sense comes from a related word, pronounced more like 9or3a: the draw (of lots), widely used for football (9or3at ech-champions). Depending on context, you therefore have to tell apart the object, the vegetable and the draw. In colloquial speech, the word can also mean a bottle of alcohol.
Example
هات قرعة ماء من الفريجيدار.
het 9ar3a ma men el frigidar.
“Bring a bottle of water from the fridge.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9ar3a” but also “gar3a”, “qar3a”, “kar3a” and “9or3a”. 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; 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.