wqe3 وقع
Algerian Darja · verb
“wqe3” (وقع) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to happen, occur.
Meanings
- to happen, occur
- to fall (into error, a trap)
Usage
Wqe3 is used for an event that occurs, often an unexpected one: "wach wqe3?" (what happened?). The verb is most common in the past tense, third person (wqe3, wqe3et). Followed by "fi", it means "to fall into" in a figurative sense: wqe3 fi l-ghalta (to make a mistake), wqe3 fi mouchkil (to run into a problem). For a physical fall, tah is used instead. The register is neutral, and the word is understood everywhere in Algeria. It is often translated as "to happen" or "to take place".
Example
واش وقع البارح فالحومة؟
wach wqe3 lbare7 fel 7awma?
“What happened in the neighborhood yesterday?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “wqe3” but also “w9e3”, “wqa3”, “wa9a3” and “wka3”. 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; 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.
Type “wqe3” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to happen, occur”; “to fall”: w9e3 in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to happen, occur”; “to fall (into a trap, a problem)”: w9a3 in Tunisian.