cha3bi شعبي
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“cha3bi” (شعبي) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning popular, of the people.
Meanings
- popular, of the people
- traditional, folk (music, neighborhood)
Usage
Cha3bi describes what comes from the people or is aimed at them. People speak of a 7ouma cha3bia, a working-class neighborhood, mousi9a cha3bia, folk music such as mezoued, or a mouvement cha3bi, a popular mobilization. The feminine is cha3bia. Note: "popular" in the sense of "liked by many" is more often mchahar or ma7boub; cha3bi refers to social origin or traditional character, sometimes with a nuance of simplicity or even modesty. The word is used in speech and in the media alike.
Example
يسكن في حومة شعبية
yoskon fi 7ouma cha3bia
“He lives in a working-class neighborhood.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “cha3bi” but also “sha3bi”, “chaabi”, “cha3bia” and “chaabia”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.
Type “cha3bi” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “popular, of the people”; “Moroccan chaabi music”: cha3bi in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “popular, of the people”; “chaabi music (Algiers genre)”: chaabi in Algerian.