cha3ra شعرة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“cha3ra” (شعرة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning a single hair.
Meanings
- a single hair
- a tiny bit
Usage
Cha3ra is the singular unit noun of cha3r, "hair" (as a mass): it therefore means a single hair. The word appears in several common images. "Kherj kima ech-cha3ra mel 3jina", literally "came out like a hair from the dough", is said of someone who gets out of a situation unharmed. "Bcha3ra" means "by a hair, narrowly". Figuratively, cha3ra expresses a very small quantity or a tiny difference. The counted plural is cha3rat.
Example
لقيت شعرة في الماكلة.
lgit cha3ra fel makla.
“I found a hair in the food.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “cha3ra” but also “chaara”, “sha3ra” and “chaera”. 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.