sar9a سرقة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“sar9a” (سرقة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning theft, larceny.
Meanings
- theft, larceny
- rip-off, overpriced item (figurative)
Usage
The word sar9a means theft in the literal sense: sar9a fi dar (burglary), bellegh 3la sar9a (to file a complaint for theft). The corresponding verb is sra9, present yesra9, and a thief is a sarra9. Figuratively, it is commonly used to denounce a price considered excessive: hedhi sar9a! (that's theft!), exactly as in French. The word is neutral and is used in speech and in writing alike, in the press as well as in conversation.
Example
صارت سرقة في الحومة البارح.
sarit sar9a fel 7ouma lbere7.
“There was a theft in the neighborhood yesterday.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sar9a” but also “sarqa”, “sarka” and “sar9et”. 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 “sar9a” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “theft, petty larceny”; “burglary, armed robbery”: ser9a in Moroccan.