maajoun معجون
Tunisian Derja · noun
“maajoun” (معجون) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning paste (soft substance).
Meanings
- paste (soft substance)
- toothpaste
Usage
Maajoun refers to a pasty substance; literally it is the participle meaning "kneaded". In everyday life it appears mostly in maajoun snen or maajoun asnan, toothpaste. It is also used for other pasty preparations sold in tubes or jars, such as certain ointments. On its own, with no further detail, the word stays vague: it is almost always completed by what the paste is. Note that maajoun does not mean bread or cake dough, which is called aajina.
Example
ما عادش عندنا معجون سنان، شريه وانت راجع.
ma aadech aandna maajoun snen, chrih w enti raje3.
“We have no toothpaste left, buy some on your way back.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “maajoun” but also “ma3joun”, “maajoon” and “m3joun”. 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.