risela رسالة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“risela” (رسالة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning letter (mail).
Meanings
- letter (mail)
- message
- message, moral (of a work)
Usage
Risela refers to a written letter, but also to a message sent to someone, including by phone or on social networks: b3athtlek risela (I sent you a message). In conversation, many Tunisians simply say "message" or "SMS" for text messages, and reserve risela for a slightly more formal register or for writing. The plural is rasayel. The word is also used figuratively for the idea a work wants to convey: el film fih risela. There are many Latin spellings.
Example
بعثتلك رسالة البارح وما جاوبتنيش.
ba3athtlek risela lbere7 w ma jewebtnich.
“I sent you a message yesterday and you didn't answer me.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “risela” but also “resela”, “rsela”, “rissala” and “risala”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “risela” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “letter, mail”; “message (text, messaging)”: risala in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “message sent to someone”; “written letter”: risala in Algerian.