ji3an جيعان
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“ji3an” (جيعان) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning hungry.
Meanings
- hungry
- greedy, insatiable (figurative)
Usage
Ji3an is the usual adjective for being hungry: ena ji3an (I'm hungry). The feminine is ji3ana, the plural ji3anin. The word is neutral and can be used at any time of day, without the force of "starving". Figuratively, it describes someone greedy or covetous, who always wants more (money, power), and can then be pejorative: 3aynou ji3ana, "his eye is hungry". The opposite is chab3an (full, sated).
Example
أنا جيعان، شنوة طيبتو اليوم؟
ena ji3an, chnowa tayabtou lyoum?
“I'm hungry, what did you cook today?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ji3an” but also “jia3an”, “ji3en” and “ji3ane”. 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.
Type “ji3an” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “hungry, starving”; “greedy, insatiable (figurative)”: ji3an in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “hungry”; “starving, greedy (figurative)”: ji3an in Algerian.