kebber كبر
Algerian Darja · verb
“kebber” (كبر) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to raise (a child).
Meanings
- to raise (a child)
- to enlarge, make bigger
- to say "Allahou akbar"
Usage
Kebber, with the doubled consonant, is the transitive verb of kbar (to grow up, to get old). It means to raise a child: "kebbret wladha wa7edha" (she raised her children alone). It also means to enlarge or increase: "kebber l'écriture", "kebber sout". In the religious domain, kebber means to say "Allahou akbar", for example during prayer or at Eid. Without the doubling, kbar is intransitive, "to grow up" or "to get older": "kbart" (I grew up, I got old).
Example
يماه كبّراتو وحدها
yemmah kebbratou wa7edha
“His mother raised him all by herself.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “kebber” but also “kabbar”, “kber”, “kebbar” and “kabber”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “kebber” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to raise (a child)”; “to enlarge, make bigger”: kebber in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to grow up”; “to get older, age”: kber in Tunisian.