tfi طفى
Tunisian Derja · verb
“tfi” (طفى) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to turn off, put out (light, fire, device).
Meanings
- to turn off, put out (light, fire, device)
- to turn off the heat under cooking
Usage
A very common verb: tfa (he turned off), yetfi (he turns off), imperative tfi. It is used for a light (tfi edhaw), a candle, a cigarette, the television or the gas. In cooking, tfi 3lih means to turn off the heat under a pot. The intransitive form ettfa means "to go out" or "to be cut off": edhaw ettfa is said during a power cut. The opposite is che3el (to turn on).
Example
القليان هو السر يلزم تسخّن الزيت وبعد طفّي عليه خلّيه يدفى
Il9alyen houwa esser yelzem tsakhen ezzit wba3d tafi alih khalih yedfei
“The secret of frying is that you have to heat the oil, then turn it off and let it warm up.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “tfi” but also “tfa”, “tafi”, “tfe” and “etfi”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “tfi” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
The same word also exists in Moroccan Darija, written طفا, where it means “to go out (device, fire)”; “to turn off (light, device)”: tfa in Moroccan.