la3eb لاعب
Algerian Darja · noun
“la3eb” (لاعب) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning player (sports, especially football).
Meanings
- player (sports, especially football)
- player (games, video games)
Usage
La3eb refers above all to a player on a sports team, especially in football. The word is everywhere in match commentary and in discussions among supporters. The usual plural is la3bin or lla3ba, and the feminine is la3ba. It is also used for a player of cards, dominoes or video games. In informal speech, people often say joueur, the French way, or more rarely "footballeur". Figuratively, "la3eb" can describe someone who plays with people's feelings or who is not serious. The register is neutral and is used in speech as well as in the press.
Example
هاد اللاعب يلعب مليح بصح ما يجريش بزاف.
had lla3eb yel3eb mlih bessah ma yjrich bezzaf.
“This player plays well, but he doesn't run much.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “la3eb” but also “la3ib” and “laeb”. 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 “la3eb” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “player (sport)”; “playing”: la3ib in Moroccan.