telifoun تلفون
Tunisian Derja · noun
“telifoun” (تلفون) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning telephone (device).
Meanings
- telephone (device)
- phone call
Usage
Telifoun is a fully adapted loanword from French, used every day. It means both the device and the call. The sense of "call" is found mainly in the expression a3mel telifoun, "to make a phone call", and in the form a3melli telifoun, "call me". For a mobile phone, people often say portable, or simply telifoun. The derived verb taleffen, "to phone", also exists. The plural is telifounet. The word belongs to all spoken registers.
Example
نعملك تلفون غدوة.
na3mlek telifoun ghodwa.
“I'll call you tomorrow.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “telifoun” but also “telefoun”, “tlifoun” and “tilifoun”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “telifoun” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “telephone (mobile or landline)”; “phone call”: tilifoun in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “telephone, mobile phone”; “phone call”: tilifoun in Algerian.