rgig رقيق
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“rgig” (رقيق) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning thin, fine (fabric, dough, object).
Meanings
- thin, fine (fabric, dough, object)
- delicate, graceful (person)
- gentle, tender-hearted (heart, character)
Usage
Rgig, written rqiq in standard Arabic, is pronounced with a g in Tunisia. It describes what is thin or fine: a fabric, a dough, a flatbread, a slice. Its opposite is ghlidh (thick). For a person, it means delicate, slender or graceful, and can be used as an affectionate compliment. The feminine is rgiga and the plural rgag. Note: in standard Arabic, raqiq also means 'slave', but that sense is unrelated to everyday use in derja.
Example
نحبّ الملسوقة رقيقة
n7eb el malsouga rgiga
“I like the brick pastry nice and thin.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “rgig” but also “r9i9”, “rqiq” and “rguig”. 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.
Type “rgig” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “thin, skinny (person, animal)”; “thin (object, material)”: r9i9 in Moroccan.