zri3a زريعة

Tunisian Derja · noun

“zri3a” (زريعة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning seed, sowing seed.

Meanings

1. seed, sowing seed
2. seeds for snacking
3. offspring, spawn (pejorative)

Usage

Zri3a first means the seed that is sown: "zri3et tmatem" (tomato seeds). It is also used for the roasted seeds people snack on, sunflower or pumpkin, very common in front of the television or at the stadium. Figuratively, the word means offspring or lineage, almost always pejoratively: "zri3et ..." labels someone by their origin, like the English "spawn" or "brood". This sense is frequent in online insults. The word is a feminine collective noun.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “zri3a” but also “zrii3a”, “zeri3a”, “zri3” and “zri3aa”. 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.

Type “zri3a” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “seeds, seed grain”; “roasted seeds for snacking”: zri3a in Moroccan.

In Algerian Darja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “roasted seeds for snacking”; “seed for sowing”: zerri3a in Algerian.