chera3 شارع
Tunisian Derja · noun
“chera3” (شارع) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning street, avenue.
Meanings
- street, avenue
- the street, public space
Usage
Chera3 is the usual word for a street or avenue. The plural is chwére3. It appears in the names of main roads ("chera3 el 7bib Bourguiba") and in expressions such as "chera3 kbir" (big avenue). Figuratively, it refers to the street as a social milieu. "Klem chera3" means street talk, coarse or vulgar language. "Wled chera3" refers to ill-mannered youths left to their own devices. "Fil chera3" means "outside, in the street". For a small street, one rather says "nahj" in writing, and "zan9a" for an alley.
Example
الدار متاعنا في الشارع الكبير
eddar mte3na fil chera3 el kbir
“Our house is on the main avenue.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chera3” but also “chara3”, “shera3”, “shere3” and “chere3”. 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 “chera3” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “street, avenue”; “the street, outside”: chari3 in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “street, avenue”; “the street (social milieu)”: chare3 in Algerian.