rfi9 رفيق
Tunisian Derja · noun
“rfi9” (رفيق) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning companion, close friend.
Meanings
- companion, close friend
- comrade (political sense)
Usage
The word rfi9 means a companion or close friend. It carries an affectionate or slightly formal nuance. In everyday conversation, people more often say sa7bi for "my friend". It appears in expressions such as rfi9 el 3omr, "lifelong companion", or in messages of friendship. In activist vocabulary, it translates "comrade". Rafik is also a very common male first name in Tunisia. Many written occurrences therefore refer to a person rather than the common noun.
Example
هو رفيقي من وقت القراية.
howa rfi9i men wa9t el 9raya.
“He has been my companion since our school days.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “rfi9” but also “rafi9”, “rafik” and “rfik”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.