blaka بلاكة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“blaka” (بلاكة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning license plate.
Meanings
- license plate
- sign, signboard
- plate (metal, wood)
Usage
Blaka is an adapted loanword from French "plaque", fully integrated into derja. Its most common meaning is the license plate: "noumrou el blaka" means the car's number. It also applies to a sign, a shop sign, a nameplate on a desk, or a sheet of metal. The plural is blakat. The register is informal to neutral, and the word is used everywhere. Note: it is often written blaka with a b, because the p sound does not exist in Tunisian.
Example
خذيت نومرو البلاكة متاع الكرهبة
5dhit noumrou el blaka mta3 el karhba
“I took down the license plate number of the car.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “blaka” but also “plaka”, “blaqa” and “blakka”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “blaka” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “plate, sign”; “license plate”: blaka in Moroccan.