chjar شجر
Tunisian Derja · noun
“chjar” (شجر) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning trees (collective noun).
Meanings
- trees (collective noun)
- tree cover, greenery
- trees as a group
Usage
Chjar is a collective noun meaning trees in general, without counting them. For a single tree, the singular unit noun chajra is used. For several counted trees, one says for example "tlata chjarat". It is used to talk about a garden, an orchard or a forest, often with the name of the species: "chjar zitoun" (olive trees), "chjar ellouz" (almond trees). The word is neutral and used in all registers. Pitfall: the collective behaves grammatically like a masculine singular. So one says "echjar hédha", not a plural form.
Example
الجنينة متاعهم فيها برشا شجر.
el jnina mte3hom fiha barcha chjar.
“Their garden has lots of trees.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chjar” but also “chjer”, “shjar”, “chajar”, “chjr” and “echjar”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find شجر and اشجر, all the same word.
Type “chjar” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “trees (collective)”; “vegetation, woodland greenery”: chjer in Moroccan.