essghir الصغير

Tunisian Derja · adjective

“essghir” (الصغير) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning the little one, the youngest.

Meanings

1. the little one, the youngest
2. the younger sibling
3. the baby, the child

Usage

Es-sghir is the definite form of sghir ("small, young"). Placed after a noun, it specifies the youngest: khouya es-sghir (my little brother), bentha es-sghira (her youngest daughter). Used alone, it commonly refers to the youngest child of the family: "the little one". The opposite is el-kbir ("the eldest, the big one"). The feminine is es-sghira, the plural es-sghar. Es-Sghir is also a family name and a nickname, so context is needed to tell them apart.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “essghir” but also “sghir”, “esghir”, “sgher” and “es-sghir”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Type “essghir” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

The same word also exists in Moroccan Darija, written صغير, where it means “small, little (size)”; “young, child”: sghir in Moroccan.

In Algerian Darja

The same word also exists in Algerian Darja, written صغير, where it means “small, little (size, quantity)”; “young, younger”: sghir in Algerian.