tfol طفل
Tunisian Derja · noun
“tfol” (طفل) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning boy, young man.
Meanings
- boy, young man
- guy (informal)
- the boy, the little boy
Usage
Tfol means a boy, from adolescence up to young adulthood, rather than a small child. For a young child, people usually say "sghir". The feminine is tofla (girl, young woman). The word is very common in colloquial speech for a young man, a "guy", for example "tfol mezyen" (a good guy). Note: do not translate it as "child", as in Standard Arabic, since in Tunisian it mainly refers to young people. Depending on tone, tofla can also be used to comment on a girl's appearance.
Example
الطفل هذا ولد جيراننا.
etfol hedha weld jiranna.
“This boy is our neighbors' son.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “tfol” but also “tfal”, “tofol”, “tefl”, “tofoul” and “ettfol”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find طفل and اطفل, all the same word.