sallef سلف
Tunisian Derja · verb
“sallef” (سلف) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to lend (mostly money).
Meanings
- to lend (mostly money)
- to advance a sum
Usage
Sallef means "to lend", most often money, but also an object: "sallefni karhabtek". The sentence is built with the person as direct object: "sallefni" (lend me). The form "tsallef" means "to borrow": "tsallaft mennou" (I borrowed from him). Watch out for this pair, which is easily confused. The noun "sulfa" means a loan. Do not confuse with the homographs "silf" / "silfa", which refer to in-law ties (the sister-in-law, wife of the husband's brother), nor with "salafi", the religious movement.
Example
سلّفني عشرة دينارات نرجعهملك غدوة
sallefni 3achra dinarat nraja3homlek ghodwa
“Lend me ten dinars, I'll pay you back tomorrow.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sallef” but also “sellef”, “salef”, “sallaf” and “selef”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “sallef” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to lend (money, an object)”; “to advance money”: sellef in Moroccan.