jwez جواز
Tunisian Derja · noun
“jwez” (جواز) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning passport (jwez safar).
Meanings
- passport (jwez safar)
Usage
Jwez is used mainly in the expression jwez safar, "passport". It comes from Standard Arabic but is well understood and used in Tunisia, particularly in administrative procedures, on radio and television, and in online comments. In everyday conversation, many Tunisians say paspor instead, borrowed from French. Jwez on its own, without safar, is less frequent and then sounds a bit more formal. The plural is rarely used; people prefer to repeat the full expression. Not to be confused with zwej, "marriage".
Example
لازمني نجدّد جواز السفر قبل الصيف.
lezemni njadded jwez safar 9bal sif.
“I have to renew my passport before the summer.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “jwez” but also “jawaz”, “jwaz” and “jawez”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.