rfi3 رفيع
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“rfi3” (رفيع) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning thin, slim (person).
Meanings
- thin, slim (person)
- thin, fine (object)
- high-level, distinguished
Usage
In Derja, rfi3 is used mainly for a thin or skinny person. It is the opposite of ghlidh (fat, thick): "wallit rfi3a" (you've gotten thinner), "rfi3 barcha" (very skinny). It also describes a fine object, such as a thread, a slice or a thin fabric. The feminine is rfi3a, the plural rfa3. The sense "high, distinguished" (mostawa rfi3, high-level) comes from Standard Arabic and belongs to a more formal register, common in the media. Rfi3 is also a first name. Depending on the tone, "rfi3" can be a compliment or a worried remark about someone's thinness.
Example
ولّيت رفيعة برشا، شنوّة صارلك؟
wallit rfi3a barcha, chnowa sarlek?
“You've gotten very thin, what's happened to you?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “rfi3” but also “rfii3”, “rfie3”, “rfi3a” and “rfya3”. 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.