msafer مسافر
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“msafer” (مسافر) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning traveling, away.
Meanings
- traveling, away
- traveler, passenger
Usage
Msafer describes a person who is leaving or is away: "ena msafer" (I'm going away, I won't be here). It agrees in gender and number: msafra in the feminine, msafrin in the plural. It is used both for a trip abroad and for a simple trip to another city, notably for work: "msafer fi khedma" (traveling for work). Used as a noun, it means the traveler or passenger. For Tunisians living abroad, one hears mhajer (emigrant) rather than msafer.
Example
ما نجمش نجي، أنا مسافر غدوة.
ma nnajjamch nji, ena msafer ghodwa.
“I can't come, I'm leaving on a trip tomorrow.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “msafer” but also “msefer”, “mesafer”, “msafr” and “msèfer”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.