tir طير
Tunisian Derja · noun
“tir” (طير) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning bird.
Meanings
- bird
- bird of prey, hunting bird
Usage
Tir is the general word for "bird". The collective and plural is twour or tyour, depending on the region. Combined with a noun, it names specific species: tir el-berni is a falcon used for hunting. Do not confuse it with the verb tar ("to fly, to fly off"), whose imperative tir is spelled the same. There is also tayyer, "to make fly" or, figuratively, "to send away, to dismiss". The diminutive twiyer is used affectionately for a little bird.
Example
فما طير صغير على الشبّاك.
famma tir sghir 3al chobbek.
“There's a little bird on the window.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “tir” but also “tiir”, “teer”, “tayr” and “tayer”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “tir” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “bird”; “flying (by plane)”: tir in Moroccan.