tassa طاسة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“tassa” (طاسة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning bowl, cup (often metal).
Meanings
- bowl, cup (often metal)
- empty head (figurative, pejorative)
- bowlful
Usage
Tassa refers to a hollow container for drinking or serving: a bowl of soup or milk, or a small metal basin for water. People say "tassa 7lib" (a bowl of milk) or "tassa chorba" (a bowl of soup). Figuratively, "tassa fargha" (empty bowl) describes a hollow person who acts important, with a mocking tone. Not to be confused with the French "tasse" (cup), which is narrower: in Tunisian, tassa primarily means a bowl. The usual plural is tassat. It is an everyday, neutral word.
Example
عطيني طاسة شربة سخونة
a3tini tassa chorba skhouna
“Give me a bowl of hot soup.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “tassa” but also “tasa”, “tesa” and “taasa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find طاسة and طاسه, all the same word.
Type “tassa” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “bowl, cup (often metal)”; “drink, drinking session (slang)”: tasa in Moroccan.