sob3 صبع
Tunisian Derja · noun
“sob3” (صبع) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning finger.
Meanings
- finger
- toe (sob3 sa9)
Usage
Sob3 is the everyday word for "finger". The plural is "swabe3". For a toe, you specify "sob3 sa9" or "sob3 rjel". Several expressions are common: "ychir b sob3ou" (to point a finger at) and "y3addou 3la swab3ek" (they can be counted on your fingers, meaning there are few of them). "Sob3" also refers, metaphorically, to a hidden hand or an interference in some affair. Note: some finger gestures are obscene, so context matters in mocking expressions.
Example
قصيت صبعي وأنا نقص في الطماطم.
9assit sob3i w ena n9oss fil tmatem.
“I cut my finger while cutting tomatoes.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sob3” but also “sba3”, “sobaa” and “soba3”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.
Type “sob3” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “finger”; “toe (sbe3 d rjel)”: sbe3 in Moroccan.