rawdha روضة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“rawdha” (روضة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning kindergarten, nursery school.
Meanings
- kindergarten, nursery school
- garden (formal register)
Usage
In Tunisia, rawdha commonly refers to the kindergarten, the preschool that takes in young children before primary school. It is used with the article: nwaddi wledi lel rawdha "I take my son to kindergarten". The sense of "garden" remains literary or religious. Rawdha is also a common female first name, which should not be confused with the common noun. Context makes it possible to tell them apart. For a day nursery taking in very young children, the French crèche is also heard.
Example
ولدي يقرا في الروضة
weldi yakra fi rrawdha
“My son is in kindergarten.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “rawdha” but also “raoudha”, “rawda” and “roudha”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “rawdha” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “kindergarten, nursery”; “garden (of paradise), religious language”: rawda in Algerian.