zbela زبالة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“zbela” (زبالة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning garbage, household waste.
Meanings
- garbage, household waste
- junk, worthless (informal)
Usage
Zbela means garbage, household waste. In colloquial speech, the word is very often used to describe something of poor quality or no value. It then works as an invariable adjective placed after the noun: sel3a zbela, junk merchandise. It can also be said of a film, a match or a TV show. Applied to a person, it becomes a contemptuous insult. The word belongs to an informal, somewhat harsh register and should be avoided in polite contexts.
Example
هالتلفون زبالة، طاح في جمعة
hal téléphone zbela, ta7 fi jem3a
“This phone is junk: it broke within a week.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “zbela” but also “zebla”, “zbala”, “zbéla” and “zbeela”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.