zar زار
Tunisian Derja · verb
“zar” (زار) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to visit someone.
Meanings
- to visit someone
- to visit a saint's shrine
Usage
Zar is the usual verb for visiting someone or going to a place. It takes a direct object: "zort khalti", "I visited my aunt". The imperfect is nzour, tzour. The plural imperative zourouna, "come and see us", is often used as an invitation, including in commercial messages. The word also has a strong religious and popular connotation: "zar el weli" means to visit a saint's shrine. The related noun ziyara refers both to a visit and to this kind of local pilgrimage.
Example
زورونا باش تعرفونا
Zourouna bech ta3rfouna
“Come visit us so you get to know us.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “zar” but also “zaar” and “zour”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “zar” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to visit someone”; “to visit a place, shrine”: zar in Moroccan.