asli اصلي
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“asli” (اصلي) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning original, genuine (not a fake).
Meanings
- original, genuine (not a fake)
- originally from
Usage
Asli is very often used for a product: 9arch asli, a brand that is asli, meaning "genuine", as opposed to a counterfeit (taqlid). For a person, asli min Sfax means "originally from Sfax", even if they live elsewhere. One also says Tounsi asli ("Tunisian born and bred") to stress authenticity. The feminine is aslia. Be careful not to confuse it with aslan, an adverb meaning "anyway, basically". The register is neutral and the word is very common in shopping and online selling.
Example
التليفون هاذا أصلي ولا تقليد؟
ettelifoun hedha asli walla ta9lid?
“Is this phone original or a fake?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “asli” but also “2asli”, “asly” and “aseli”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 2 is hamza (ء), a glottal stop.
Type “asli” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “original, authentic”; “indigenous, native”: asli in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “authentic, genuine, original”; “originally from ("my origin")”: asli in Algerian.