fakroun فكرون
Tunisian Derja · noun
“fakroun” (فكرون) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning tortoise, turtle.
Meanings
- tortoise, turtle
- slow or dim-witted person (pejorative)
Usage
Fakroun is the usual Tunisian word for the tortoise or turtle, whether land or sea. The feminine fakrouna also exists. Many families keep a tortoise in the courtyard or garden, hence phrases like chrit fakroun, "I bought a tortoise". Figuratively, someone is called fakroun to mock their slowness. The expression ras fakroun, "tortoise head", is used as a jibe for a dim-witted or sly person. These figurative uses are informal and slightly pejorative. In Standard Arabic, the tortoise is called sul7afat, a word not used in everyday conversation.
Example
الفكرون يمشي بالشوية
el fakroun yemchi bechwaya
“The tortoise walks slowly.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “fakroun” but also “fekroun”, “fakrouna” and “fakroon”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “fakroun” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “tortoise”; “very slow person (teasing)”: fekroun in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “tortoise, turtle”; “very slow person”: fakroun in Algerian.