karch كرش
Tunisian Derja · noun
“karch” (كرش) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning belly.
Meanings
- belly
- paunch, big belly
- womb
Usage
Karch is the ordinary word for "belly" in Tunisian. It is used for pain (karchi youja3ni, "my stomach hurts"), for hunger or for pregnancy: fi karch ommou means "in his mother's womb". It can mean a paunch, with a mocking nuance: 3andou karch, "he has a belly". Do not confuse it with karcha, cooked tripe. The word is informal but not vulgar.
Example
كرشي توجع فيّ من الصباح
karchi touja3 fiya mel sbe7
“My stomach has been hurting since this morning.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “karch” but also “kerch”, “karsh” and “kirch”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “karch” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “belly, abdomen”; “paunch, potbelly”: kerch in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “belly, stomach”; “womb (in expressions)”: kerch in Algerian.