alf الف
Tunisian Derja · numeral
“alf” (الف) is a numeral in Tunisian Derja meaning thousand.
Meanings
- thousand
- thousands, a great many
Usage
Alf means "thousand". After a number from three to ten, the plural alef is used: tletha alef (three thousand). Above ten, alf is used again: khmastach alf (fifteen thousand). Be careful with prices: in Tunisia people often count in millimes. So alf can mean one dinar, and 15 alf fifteen dinars. The word appears in greeting formulas: kol 3am w enti b alf khir (happy holiday, with a thousand blessings) and alf mabrouk (a thousand congratulations).
Example
مخبّي707 مخبّي317 كلّ عام وانتي ب الف خير
m5abbi707 m5abbi317 kol 3am wenti b alf khir
“Happy holiday to you, with a thousand blessings.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “alf” but also “alef”, “elf” and “alff”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “alf” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “thousand”; “a great many (emphasis)”: alf in Algerian.