l3ba لعبة
Algerian Darja · noun
“l3ba” (لعبة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning game, match.
Meanings
- game, match
- toy
- scheme, trick
Usage
L3ba means a game, whether a board game, video game or sport, as well as a child's toy. The most common plural is l3ab. In the figurative sense, very frequent in discussions about politics or football, "l3ba" means a maneuver or a behind-the-scenes arrangement: "kolha l3ba" (it's all fixed, it's all a farce). The corresponding verb is l3eb (to play). Note: depending on the context, the word can mean a simple toy or suggest deception.
Example
شريتلو لعبة جديدة للعيد
chritlou l3ba jdida l-l3id
“I bought him a new toy for Eid.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “l3ba” but also “le3ba”, “la3ba”, “lo3ba” and “l3eba”. 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 “l3ba” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “game”; “toy”: lo3ba in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “game”; “toy”: le3ba in Tunisian.