famila فاميلة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“famila” (فاميلة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning family, household.
Meanings
- family, household
- relatives, extended family
Usage
Famila is a loanword adapted from the French "famille". It is very common in conversation, alongside the Arabic word 3ayla, which is slightly more formal. It is used for the household as well as relatives in the broad sense. It takes possessive suffixes: familti (my family), familtek (your family). The expression wled famila describes people who are "well brought up", from a good family. The word is feminine, as in French. A pitfall for an English speaker: it is not used for a family in the scientific sense, such as a family of plants.
Example
باش نعدّي العيد مع الفاميلة
bech n3addi el 3id m3a el famila
“I'm going to spend Eid with the family.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “famila” but also “familia”, “fameela”, “famille” and “familya”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.