far3 فرع
Tunisian Derja · noun
“far3” (فرع) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning branch, office (bank, company).
Meanings
- branch, office (bank, company)
- branch, subdivision
Usage
Far3 mainly means the branch or office of a bank, company, government department or chain. Its plural is frou3. It is used in practical phrases: "el-far3 mta3 el-bank fi tri9 el-matar" (the bank branch is on the airport road). It can also mean a field of study, or a branch of a party or a family. For a tree branch, people say 3rouf or ghsan instead, depending on the region. In business settings, the French word "agence" is heard just as often.
Example
نجم نخلّص في فرع آخر متاع نفس البنك؟
najjem n5alles fi far3 e5er mta3 nafs el bank?
“Can I pay at another branch of the same bank?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “far3” but also “fara3”, “far3a” and “fer3”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.