bsbab بسبب
Algerian Darja · preposition
“bsbab” (بسبب) is a preposition in Algerian Darja meaning because of.
Meanings
- because of
- thanks to
Usage
Bsbab (or besbab) introduces the cause of something, most often negative: "bsbab el kriz", because of the traffic jams. In speech it is very often used with a suffixed pronoun: "bsbabek" (because of you), "bsbabhom" (because of them). These are common reproaches. Dialectal pronunciation usually lengthens the second syllable: bsbâb. The written form بسبب, closer to Standard Arabic, is common in online comments. There is also the more colloquial variant "3la jal" to express cause.
Example
وصلت معطّل بسبب الزحمة
wselt m3attel bsbab ezzahma
“I arrived late because of the traffic.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “bsbab” but also “besbab”, “bssbab” and “bsabab”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “bsbab” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “because of”; “owing to”: bsabab in Tunisian.