yebat يبات
Algerian Darja · verb
“yebat” (يبات) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to spend the night somewhere.
Meanings
- to spend the night somewhere
- to sleep away from home
- to stay up all night doing
Usage
Ybat is the imperfective form (he spends the night) of the verb "bat". It indicates where one sleeps or spends the night: "ybat 3and khalto" (he sleeps at his aunt's), "bat barra" (he stayed out overnight). Followed by another verb, it means spending the whole night doing something: "bat y9ra" (he studied all night). The verb is common and neutral. The pitfall is to understand it as "sleep" in the general sense. To sleep, one says "r9ed". Ybat stresses the place or the length of the night.
Example
الليلة يبات عند جدّو، ما يرجعش للدار.
lila ybat 3and djeddou, ma yarja3ch l'dar.
“Tonight he's sleeping at his grandfather's, he's not coming home.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, it is written “yebat”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.