mé3oun ماعون
Tunisian Derja · noun
“mé3oun” (ماعون) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning dishes, kitchen utensils.
Meanings
- dishes, kitchen utensils
- container, pot
- equipment, belongings
Usage
Mé3oun mainly refers to dishes and kitchen utensils taken collectively: plates, saucepans, serving dishes. One says naghsel el mé3oun, "I do the dishes." The word can also refer to a specific container, such as a clay pot (mé3oun fokhar). In a broader, colloquial sense, it refers to someone's equipment or belongings, for example a craftsman's tools. It is a collective noun used in the singular, even for a set of objects. The plural mwé3en exists but is less frequent. The word is common at home, in all social circles.
Example
قعد يغسل في الماعون بعد العشاء.
9a3ed yeghsel fel mé3oun ba3d l3cha.
“He stayed washing the dishes after dinner.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mé3oun” but also “me3oun”, “ma3oun”, “maa3oun” and “m3oun”. 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.
Type “mé3oun” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “dishes, kitchen utensils”; “container, utensil (single item)”: ma3oun in Moroccan.