dechra دشرة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“dechra” (دشرة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning village, rural hamlet.
Meanings
- village, rural hamlet
- backwater, middle of nowhere (pejorative)
Usage
Dechra designates a village or rural hamlet, often in the interior of the country. The word can be neutral, when someone talks about their home dechra. It can also be affectionate, and going back to the dechra has a nostalgic value for many emigrants. Used with contempt, it is equivalent to French "bled" in the sense of a godforsaken place. From it comes "dachri", a joke or insult for someone considered uncouth, a country bumpkin. The plural is "dchour". So be careful with the tone you use.
Example
نمشي للدشرة في الصيف نشوف جدّي.
nemchi lel dechra fi e-sif nchouf jeddi.
“I go to the village in the summer to see my grandfather.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “dechra” but also “dachra” and “dchra”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “dechra” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “village, hamlet”; “backwater, remote place (pejorative)”: dachra in Algerian.