da33ef ضعف
Algerian Darja · verb
“da33ef” (ضعف) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to weaken.
Meanings
- to weaken
- to make thin
Usage
Ḍaʿʿef is the causative verb derived from ḍʿif (weak, thin): to make someone weak or make them lose weight. It is often used for illness, tiredness or worry: lmerḍ ḍaʿʿfou (the illness weakened him). To lose weight oneself, one says ḍʿaf. This verb should be distinguished from the noun ḍaʿf, which means "double" (ḍaʿf ssoum, double the price) or "weakness", and which often appears in writing with the same spelling. In the political or abstract sense (to weaken a system), usage is close to Standard Arabic.
Example
هاد المرض ضعّفو بزاف، ولّى عظم.
had lmerd da33fou bezzaf, wella 3dem.
“This illness has weakened him a lot; he has become nothing but bones.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “da33ef” but also “d3af”, “dha33af” and “da3af”. 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 “da33ef” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to weaken, make weak”; “to make thin, slim down”: d33ef in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to lose weight, get thin”; “to weaken, grow weak”: dh3af in Tunisian.