lekbir لكبير
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“lekbir” (لكبير) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning the big one, the biggest.
Meanings
- the big one, the biggest
- the eldest
- the chief, the boss
Usage
Lekbir is the form of "kbir" (big) preceded by the article. It is used to qualify a definite noun, as in "el bit lekbir" (the big room). On its own, it designates a person: the eldest of a set of siblings ("weldi lekbir"), the senior member or the person in charge. For a person, the word expresses the respect owed to age or rank. The feminine is "lekbira". Note: depending on context, it can refer to size or to age. "Khouya lekbir" means "my big brother", that is, the eldest.
Example
خويا لكبير يخدم في فرنسا
khouya lekbir yekhdem fi fransa
“My big brother works in France.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “lekbir” but also “lkbir”, “lakbir” and “elkbir”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “lekbir” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “the big one”; “the eldest, the oldest”: lkbir in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “the big one, the biggest”; “the eldest, the oldest”: lekbir in Algerian.