zar9a زرقة
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“zar9a” (زرقة) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning blue (feminine of azra9).
Meanings
- blue (feminine of azra9)
Usage
Zar9a is the feminine form of the adjective azra9, "blue"; the plural is zor9. It agrees with a feminine noun: karhba zar9a, "a blue car", or sabbat zar9a in some regions where the word is feminine. It covers all shades of blue, from sky to sea, and can also describe skin bruised by a blow or by cold. The register is neutral and everyday. Watch the agreement: a feminine noun requires zar9a, not the default azra9.
Example
شريت كرهبة زرقة.
chrit karhba zar9a.
“I bought a blue car.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “zar9a” but also “zer9a”, “zarka” and “zarqa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.
Type “zar9a” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
The same word also exists in Algerian Darja, written زرقا, where it means “blue (feminine of zreg)”; “dark-skinned (woman)”: zarga in Algerian.