della3a دلاعة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“della3a” (دلاعة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning watermelon.
Meanings
- watermelon
Usage
Dellaa designates the watermelon, an emblematic fruit of summer in Tunisia. The word is a feminine collective noun; a whole watermelon is called dellaa or habbet dellaa, a slice tarf dellaa. Watermelon is often bought at the roadside in summer, and eaten chilled after the meal or at the beach. It is not to be confused with the melon, called bettikh; the two fruits are clearly distinguished in everyday usage. The word belongs to the ordinary register, with no particular connotation.
Example
شريت دلاعة كبيرة من السوق.
chrit della3a kbira mel souk.
“I bought a big watermelon at the market.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “della3a” but also “dalla3a”, “dela3a”, “della3” and “dala3a”. 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 “della3a” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
The same word also exists in Algerian Darja, written الدلاع, where it means “watermelon”: dellaa in Algerian.