dfen دفن
Tunisian Derja · verb
“dfen” (دفن) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning bury, inter.
Meanings
- bury, inter
- hide, hush up (an affair, a secret)
Usage
Dfen, imperfect yedfen, means "to bury" in the literal sense: a dead person, or an object in the ground. Figuratively, you can "bury" a secret, an affair or a project, that is, smother it or make it disappear. The passive or reflexive form is tdfen, "to be buried". The expression yedfen rou7ou, literally "to bury oneself", conveys despair or extreme shame. The corresponding noun is dfen or dafna, "burial"; jneza is also used for the funeral procession.
Example
احسن حلّ واحد يمشي يدفن روحه و عينه حيّة
a7ssen 7al wa7ed yemchi yedfen rou7ou w 3inou 7aya
“The best solution is for one to go and bury oneself alive.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “dfen” but also “yedfen”, “dafen” and “dfin”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “dfen” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to bury, inter”; “to hide, bury away”: dfen in Moroccan.