bir بير
Tunisian Derja · noun
“bir” (بير) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning well (for water).
Meanings
- well (for water)
Usage
Bir refers to the well, in the countryside as well as in traditional houses that had one in the courtyard. The word is very common and appears in many Tunisian place names, in the form Bir followed by a name. It is also found in folk tales and set phrases. The plural is byar. Typical constructions: ma bir, "well water", or yjib el me mel bir, "to draw water from the well". Pitfall for an English speaker: it is easy to confuse it with "beer", which is often written beer or birra in arabizi.
Example
البير هذا فيه ماء بارد
el bir hedha fih me bered
“This well has cold water.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “bir” but also “bire” and “biir”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “bir” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “well”: bir in Moroccan.