sawwe9 سواق
Tunisian Derja · noun
“sawwe9” (سواق) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning driver, one who drives.
Meanings
- driver, one who drives
- professional driver (taxi, truck)
Usage
Sawwe9 refers to someone who drives a vehicle, especially a professional driver: "sawwe9 taxi", "sawwe9 kamioun", "sawwe9 louage". In speech, the French loanword chauffeur (chifour) is also very common, and the two coexist. In administrative or press texts, the written form may correspond to the standard plural "drivers", as in "sawwa9 na9l el badha2e3" (freight transporters). Context distinguishes singular from plural. The associated verb is sa9 (to drive).
Example
خويا يخدم سواق تاكسي.
khouya yekhdem sawwe9 taxi.
“My brother works as a taxi driver.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sawwe9” but also “sawe9”, “sawweg”, “sawa9” and “sawwa9”. 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.