dqiqa دقيقة
Algerian Darja · noun
“dqiqa” (دقيقة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning minute (unit of time).
Meanings
- minute (unit of time)
- a moment, a little while
Usage
Dqiqa is the usual word for "minute" in Algeria, in speech and in writing. It is used to give a duration (khamsa dqayeq, "five minutes") or to ask for a short delay: stenna dqiqa, "wait a minute", a very frequent phrase on the phone or in a shop. The usual plural is dqayeq. In this sense of "moment", the actual length doesn't matter, as in English. The French word "minute" is also heard in the speech of many Algerians, but dqiqa remains the most widespread Arabic form.
Example
استنّاني دقيقة، راني جاي
stennani dqiqa, rani jay
“Wait for me a minute, I'm coming.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “dqiqa” but also “d9i9a”, “dkika”, “dgiga” and “dqi9a”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.
Type “dqiqa” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “minute”; “a moment, a second”: d9i9a in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “minute”; “a moment”: d9i9a in Tunisian.