tasfi9 تصفيق
Tunisian Derja · noun
“tasfi9” (تصفيق) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning applause.
Meanings
- applause
- act of clapping
Usage
Tasfi9 means applause or the act of clapping hands. It is used in the context of shows, weddings or matches, and sometimes figuratively for complacent approval. For example, political commentary uses tasfi9 to criticize those who applaud everything. The corresponding verb is saffa9 (to applaud), present ysaffa9. The word comes from Standard Arabic, but it is entirely common in speech. It is often associated with zgharit (ululations) and chti7 (dance) to describe a celebration.
Example
كي كمل الغناية، القاعة الكل دخلت في التصفيق.
ki kammel el ghnaya, el 9a3a el kol dkhlet fi tasfi9.
“When he finished the song, the whole hall broke into applause.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “tasfi9” but also “tsfi9”, “tasfik” and “tasfiq”. 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 “tasfi9” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “applause”; “clapping”: tasfi9 in Moroccan.