dheb ذهب
Tunisian Derja · noun
“dheb” (ذهب) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning gold (metal).
Meanings
- gold (metal)
- made of gold (after a noun)
Usage
Dheb means gold, the metal. It is very present in the vocabulary of jewelry and weddings. To say that an object is made of gold, place dheb directly after the noun, without a preposition: selsla dheb, "gold chain", or khatem dheb, "gold ring". It is also used figuratively, for something or someone precious: qalbou dheb, "he has a heart of gold". In derja, the vowel is generally short, hence the spelling dheb. Standard Arabic dhahab is used only in a formal register.
Example
شرالها سلسلة ذهب
chrélha selsla dheb
“He bought her a gold chain.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “dheb” but also “dhab”, “dhheb”, “dhahab” and “dhhab”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.