l3ab لعب
Algerian Darja · verb
“l3ab” (لعب) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to play (game, sport).
Meanings
- to play (game, sport)
- to play a role
- to joke, not be serious
Usage
The verb l3ab (present yel3ab) covers children's play, sport ("l3ab el koura", to play football) and acting a role ("l3ab dawr"). "Rak tel3ab?" means "are you kidding?" or "you're not serious". "L3ab 3lih" or "l3ab bih" means to deceive someone or make fun of them. Unlike English "play", it is not used for a musical instrument: one says "ydoq" or "ysoun" instead. The register is neutral, and the word is very frequent in everyday life.
Example
لعب مليح في الماتش البارح
l3ab mli7 f le match lbare7
“He played well in yesterday's match.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “l3ab” but also “la3ab”, “l3eb” and “la3b”. 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 “l3ab” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to play”; “to play a match, a role”: l3eb in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to play”; “to toy with, manipulate”: l3ab in Tunisian.