tha3leb ثعلب
Tunisian Derja · noun
“tha3leb” (ثعلب) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning fox (animal).
Meanings
- fox (animal)
- sly, cunning person
Usage
Tha3leb refers to the fox, the animal of the countryside and of folk tales. Figuratively, it is very common and describes a cunning person who gets what they want through trickery: "howa tha3leb" (he's a sly one, a crafty operator). The nuance is often pejorative and suggests deceit rather than admired intelligence. It is also used for a woman in the same construction, without changing form. In everyday pronunciation, the initial "th" often becomes "t": you then hear ta3leb. The plural tha3leb / tha3alib is rarer in conversation.
Example
رد بالك منو، راهو ثعلب
redd belek minnou, rahou tha3leb
“Watch out for him, he's a fox.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “tha3leb” but also “th3elb”, “ta3leb”, “tha3lab” and “the3leb”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.