sahra صحرا
Tunisian Derja · noun
“sahra” (صحرا) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning desert.
Meanings
- desert
- empty, deserted place (figurative)
Usage
Sahra refers to the desert, especially the Sahara of southern Tunisia (Douz, Tozeur, Ksar Ghilane). The word is pronounced without a final hamza, unlike standard Arabic sa7ra2. Figuratively, it is used for an empty or abandoned place: khallitouha sahra, "you left it deserted". It can also describe an arid landscape stretching as far as the eye can see. The reduplication sahra sahra emphasizes this vastness. The adjective sahraoui refers to a person or thing from the desert. The plural sa7ari remains rare in conversation.
Example
دنيا صحرا صحرا , شي اصفر و شويّة بنيات بيوض !
denya sahra sahra , chay asfer w chwayya banyet byodh .
“Nothing but desert as far as the eye can see, some yellow and a few small white houses!”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sahra” but also “sa7ra”, “sahara” and “s7ra”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.
Type “sahra” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “desert”; “the Sahara, the South”: s7ra in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “desert”; “the Algerian South, the Sahara”: sahra in Algerian.