jad جاد
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“jad” (جاد) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning serious, not joking.
Meanings
- serious, not joking
- earnest, reliable in one's intentions
Usage
Jad comes from standard Arabic but is common in derja. It describes someone who speaks without joking (kan jad? "was he serious?") or who has honest intentions, for example in a marriage proposal (ana jad, "I am serious"). The feminine form is jadda. In conversation, many Tunisians also say s'rieux, borrowed from French, or use the expression bel jed ("seriously"). Be careful not to confuse it with jé ("he came"), which is sometimes written similarly in arabizi.
Example
إنت جاد ولا تضحك عليّ؟
enti jad walla tadhhek 3liya?
“Are you serious or are you making fun of me?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “jad” but also “jed”, “jaad” and “jedd”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.