tabe3 طابع
Tunisian Derja · noun
“tabe3” (طابع) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning stamp (postal or fiscal).
Meanings
- stamp (postal or fiscal)
- seal, rubber stamp
- character, hallmark
Usage
Tabe3 first refers to a stamp: the postage stamp, but above all, in daily life, the fiscal stamp you buy for an administrative file. It is sometimes specified as tabe3 jebey. The word is also used for a seal or stamp affixed to a document. Figuratively, it means "character, imprint": 3andou tabe3 khas, "he has a style of his own". The expression kollhom tabe3 wa7ed means "they are all the same", as if they came out of the same mould. Do not confuse it with tab3, "nature, temperament".
Example
لازمك تشري طابع باش تكمل الملف.
lezmek tichri tabe3 bech tkammel el melaf.
“You need to buy a stamp to complete the file.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “tabe3” but also “tab3”, “tabaa” and “taba3”. 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.