How to say “stay” in Darija
In Moroccan, you say “b9a”; in Algerian, “g3ad”; in Tunisian, “b9a” and “tdhal”.
In Moroccan Darija
b9a بقا
A verb meaning “to stay, remain”; “to keep on doing”; “to feel pity for (b9a f-)”.
بقا غير غدا: “Only tomorrow is left.”
In Algerian Darja
g3ad قعد
A verb meaning “to stay, remain somewhere”; “to keep on, go on (doing)”; “to sit down”.
قعد يستنى فيها ساعة كاملة: “He kept waiting for her for a whole hour.”
In Tunisian Derja
b9a بقى
A verb meaning “to stay, to remain”; “to become, to end up”; “to keep on (doing)”.
راني جيت باش نوصّل موش باش نبقى برشا نفصّل ,: “I came to pass things on, not to stay and go into lots of detail.”
tdhal تضل
A verb meaning “to keep (doing something)”; “to remain, to stay”.
علاش تضل تستنّى فيه؟ راهو موش جاي.: “Why do you keep waiting for him? He's not coming.”