ysarbi يسربي
Tunisian Derja · verb
“ysarbi” (يسربي) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to serve (meals, drinks).
Meanings
- to serve (meals, drinks)
- to wait on a customer
Usage
Ysarbi is the third person imperfect of the verb sarba, "to serve". It is used for catering and hospitality: a waiter, a café, a hotel or a restaurant that serves food or drink. Examples: "ysarbi el-ftour", "it serves breakfast", or "ma ysarbich chrab", "it doesn't serve alcohol". The register is common and informal. The verb is not used for "to do a favor" or "to be useful", which are expressed differently. In the past, one says "sarba".
Example
المطعم هذا يسربي الماكلة حتى للعشية
el mat3am hedha ysarbi el makla hatta lel 3chiya
“This restaurant serves food until late afternoon.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ysarbi” but also “yserbi”, “isarbi”, “ysarbe” and “yserbe”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “ysarbi” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to serve (drinks, food)”; “to pour a drink”: ysserbi in Algerian.