bac باك

Algerian Darja · noun

“bac” (باك) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning baccalaureate, the bac exam.

Meanings

1. baccalaureate, the bac exam
2. final year of high school

Usage

Bac is a borrowing from French, fully integrated into usage. It refers to the end-of-high-school exam, a much-awaited moment in Algerian families. People say 3endi bac ("I'm taking the bac this year"), dez bac ("to take the bac") or nja7 fi bac ("to pass the bac"). By extension, the word also refers to the final year itself. Candidates are sometimes called bacalourya or talaba bac. The exam period brings many prayers and good wishes for success, especially on social media.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “bac” but also “bak” and “back”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Type “bac” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “baccalaureate, bac”; “your father (ba + -k)”: bac in Moroccan.

In Tunisian Derja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “baccalaureate exam”; “final year of high school”: bac in Tunisian.

How to say “baccalaureate” in Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian