kbar قبر
Algerian Darja · noun
“kbar” (قبر) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning grave, burial place.
Meanings
- grave, burial place
Usage
Qbar (often pronounced gbar or kbar depending on the region) is the common word for a grave. The plural is qbour, and the cemetery is called maqbra or, very often, jbana. It appears in religious and affectionate formulas: Allah ynawwar qabrou ("may God light up his grave"), said when mentioning a deceased person. People also speak of zyara l-qbour, visiting graves, especially on feast days. The word appears in hyperbolic expressions, for example "dakhalni l-qbar" to say that one was exhausted or pushed to the limit. Neutral register, used by everyone.
Example
رحنا نزوروا قبر جدي نهار العيد
ro7na nzourou qbar jeddi nhar el-3id
“We went to visit my grandfather's grave on the day of Eid.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “kbar” but also “qbar”, “9bar”, “gbar” and “kbr”. 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 “kbar” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “grave, tomb”: 9ber in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “grave, burial place”; “tomb of a saint”: 9bar in Tunisian.