3bad عباد
Algerian Darja · noun
“3bad” (عباد) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning people, persons.
Meanings
- people, persons
- creatures, servants of God
Usage
It is the plural of 3abd. In darja it is used mainly in the sense of "people, persons", often for unspecified people: 3bad ma n3arfhomch, "people I don't know". It retains a religious nuance, the idea of God's creatures, in phrases such as 3bad Allah or ya 3bad Allah, an address like "O people!". It is also found in the expression bled w 3bad, "the country and its inhabitants". In everyday use it is close to ennas but a bit more expressive. It should not be confused with 3abbad, the plant name in "sunflower".
Example
كاين عباد يحبو غير المشاكل
kayen 3bad yhabbou ghir el machakil
“There are people who only love problems.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3bad” but also “3ibad”, “abad” and “3bed”. 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 “3bad” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “people, persons”; “servants of God”: 3bad in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “people”; “some people, a crowd”: 3bed in Tunisian.