zare3 زارع
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“zare3” (زارع) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning having sown, having planted.
Meanings
- having sown, having planted
- sower
Usage
Zare3 is the active participle of the verb zra3, "to sow, to plant". In conversation it is mainly used to say that one has planted something and the crop is in place: ana zare3 9am7, "I have sown wheat". It agrees: zar3a in the feminine, zar3in in the plural. As a noun, in the sense of "sower", it appears mostly in proverbs and poetry, for example in the saying about the one who sows thorns and harvests surprises. To refer to a farmer by profession, one says rather fallè7.
Example
بابا زارع الطماطم في الجنان
baba zare3 tmatem fel jnen
“Dad planted tomatoes in the garden.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “zare3” but also “zari3”, “zara3” and “zaré3”. 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.