chaja3 شجع

Tunisian Derja · verb

“chaja3” (شجع) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to encourage someone.

Meanings

1. to encourage someone
2. to cheer for, support (a team)
3. to promote

Usage

Chajja3 means "to encourage" and conjugates normally: nchajja3, ychajja3, chajja3ni. It takes a direct object with no preposition: chajja3 wildou, "he encouraged his son". Use bech before a verb: chajja3ni bech nekmel, "he encouraged me to continue". In football it means to support a team: nchajja3 et-Teraji. The derived word mchajja3 means supporter. The term is everyday register and understood throughout Tunisia.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chaja3” but also “chajja3”, “shaja3” and “chejja3”. 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 “chaja3” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to encourage, support”; “to cheer for (a team)”: chejje3 in Moroccan.