9ari قاري
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“9ari” (قاري) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning educated, schooled.
Meanings
- educated, schooled
- continental (written register)
Usage
In Tunisian, qari (feminine qarya, plural qrayin) means "who has studied" or "graduated". It is used to talk about a person's level of education, notably for a future spouse or in the workplace: "mra qarya" means an educated woman. It is often reinforced with barcha, as in "qari barcha". The opposite is "ma qrach", meaning "he has had no schooling". The sense "continental" belongs to Standard Arabic and is only found in the press or sports vocabulary. Note: in Tunisian, the word does not mean "reader".
Example
تحبّ تكون وحدها مرتاحة تبدا إنسان قارية و تخدم و لاباس عليها
theb tkou wahadha merteha tebda ensena 9aria w tekdem w lebes aliha
“She prefers to be alone and at peace, an educated woman who works and is doing fine.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9ari” but also “qari”, “kari” and “9arii”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.
Type “9ari” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “educated, having studied”; “having studied (a subject)”: qari in Algerian.