3ach عاش
Moroccan Darija · verb
“3ach” (عاش) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to live, be alive.
Meanings
- to live, be alive
- to live, reside somewhere
- to live off, get by
Usage
The verb 3ach is a common verb meaning to live. In the present tense, one says "kay3ich"; the imperative is "3ich". It is constructed with f- to indicate place ("3ach f fransa") and with b- for means of livelihood ("kay3ich b lkhedma dyalo", "he lives off his work"). The corresponding noun is "l3icha", life in the sense of daily life and the cost of living. The word appears in acclamations like "3acha lmalik", "long live the king", which use a Standard Arabic form. To say "to live" in the sense of residing, "sken" is also often used.
Example
عاش بزاف ديال السنين فبلجيكا
3ach bezzaf dyal snin f beljika
“He lived for many years in Belgium.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kan3ich | 3cht | |
| nta (you, m.) | kati3ch | 3chti | 3ich |
| nti (you, f.) | kat3ichi | 3chti | 3ichi |
| howa (he) | kay3ich | 3ach | |
| hiya (she) | kat3ich | 3acht | |
| 7na (we) | kan3icho | 3chna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | kat3icho | 3chto | 3icho |
| homa (they) | kay3icho | 3acho |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3ach” but also “3aach”, “3ash” and “aach”. 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 “3ach” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to live, be alive”; “to live somewhere”: 3ach in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to live”; “to reside, dwell”: 3ach in Tunisian.