9erfa قرفة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“9erfa” (قرفة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning cinnamon.
Meanings
- cinnamon
Usage
9erfa refers to cinnamon, either as sticks or ground. It is very common in Tunisian cooking, in both sweet and savory dishes: it is added to assida, certain tajines and stews, and tea. It also features in homemade spice blends. Be careful not to confuse 9erfa with the verb 9ref ("to be disgusted, to be fed up"), which is written with similar letters. Ground cinnamon is called 9erfa m7ou9a. A common word with no particular register.
Example
حط شوية قرفة على العصيدة
7ot chwaya 9erfa 3al 3assida
“Put a little cinnamon on the assida.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9erfa” but also “9arfa”, “qerfa”, “kerfa” and “9orfa”. 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 “9erfa” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “cinnamon”: 9erfa in Moroccan.