djej دجاج
Tunisian Derja · noun
“djej” (دجاج) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning chicken (meat).
Meanings
- chicken (meat)
- hens, live poultry
Usage
Djej is the usual word for chicken, both the animal and the meat. It is a collective: it refers to poultry in general, with no plural marking. For a single bird, one says djeja (a hen), plural djejet. In cooking, it is heard in dishes such as djej fil forn (oven-roasted chicken), kosksi bel djej or marka djej. At the market, djej arbi is often specified for free-range chicken, as opposed to farmed chicken. Note: djej is not used as a term of endearment, unlike French "ma poule".
Example
اليوم أمّي طيّبت دجاج في الفرن
lyoum ommi tayybet djej fil forn
“Today my mother cooked chicken in the oven.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “djej” but also “djaj” and “dejej”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “djej” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “chicken (meat)”; “chickens, poultry (collective)”: djaj in Moroccan.