kfan كفن
Tunisian Derja · noun
“kfan” (كفن) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning shroud.
Meanings
- shroud
Usage
The word kfan means the shroud, the piece of white cloth in which the deceased is wrapped before burial according to Muslim rites. It belongs to funeral vocabulary and is used in a serious register. It also appears in figurative expressions: reminding someone that you take nothing with you but your kfan means that possessions stay here in this world. The plural is akfen, and the related verb is kaffen, "to wrap in a shroud". The word is not to be used lightly: used as a joke, it can shock, especially in front of older people.
Example
الميت يتلفّ في كفن أبيض
el mayyet yetleff fi kfan abyedh
“The deceased is wrapped in a white shroud.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “kfan” but also “kfen” and “kafan”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.