car كار
Tunisian Derja · noun
“car” (كار) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning coach, intercity bus.
Meanings
- coach, intercity bus
- city bus
Usage
Kar is a borrowing from French "car" (coach), fully integrated into derja. It is feminine: "el kar elli nekhouha" (the coach I take). The plural is "kiran". It refers mainly to coaches and public-transport buses, both within cities and between them. One also says "el kar mta3 el mekteb" for the school bus. For "bus", you also hear "bis" or "tobis". Phrases like "nekhou el kar" (I take the coach) are very common in daily life.
Example
واحنا خواتنا يتنش له فال كران والمتروات ,
wa7na 5wetne yetnishlou fil kiran wilMitrowet ,
“And as for us, our sisters get pickpocketed on the buses and metros.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “car” but also “kar” and “kiran”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “car” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “coach, intercity bus”; “bus (in general)”: kar in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “coach, intercity bus”; “bus”: kar in Algerian.