bidoun بيدون
Tunisian Derja · noun
“bidoun” (بيدون) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning jerrycan, can.
Meanings
- jerrycan, can
- large plastic bottle
Usage
Bidoun is a borrowing from French "bidon", well integrated into Tunisian speech. It refers to a plastic or metal container for water, oil or fuel: bidoun mte3 me, bidoun zit. It is also used for large bottles of mineral water or for reused bottles. The usual plural is bidounét. Unlike in informal French, bidoun does not mean "fake" or "lie": it is only an object. You hear it everywhere, in town and in the countryside.
Example
عبي البيدون ماء من العين
3abbi el bidoun me mel 3in
“Fill the jerrycan with water from the spring.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “bidoun” but also “bidon”, “bidoune” and “bidun”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “bidoun” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “jerrycan, container”; “bucket”: bidoun in Algerian.