cha3r شعر
Tunisian Derja · noun
“cha3r” (شعر) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning hair, head of hair.
Meanings
- hair, head of hair
- poetry
Usage
Cha3r refers to hair taken collectively. It is a singular noun, whereas French says "les cheveux" (plural): cha3ri twil, "I have long hair". It appears in common expressions such as zit cha3r (hair oil) or jel cha3r (gel). The same written word also means "poetry", but in speech the vowel often differs: chi3r or cha3r depending on the speaker. Context is usually enough to resolve the ambiguity. For a single hair, one says cha3ra.
Example
تحت شعري عندي مخي جبّار ,
ta7t cha3ri 3andi mokhi jabbar ,
“Under my hair, I have a brilliant brain.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “cha3r” but also “cha3ar”, “chaar” and “chi3r”. 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 “cha3r” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “hair, body hair”; “poetry”: ch3er in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “hair, body hair”; “poetry”: ch3er in Algerian.