3ala9a علاقة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“3ala9a” (علاقة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning relationship, bond between people.
Meanings
- relationship, bond between people
- relation, connection between things
- hanger, coat rack
Usage
3ala9a means a relationship between people: friendship, professional tie or romantic relationship. You say fte7 3ala9a m3a ("to form a relationship with") or 3ndo 3ala9a m3aha ("he has a relationship with her"). The fixed expression ma 3ndo 3ala9a, or la 3ala9a, is used to say that one thing has "no connection" with another. In a domestic context, the same word, often pronounced l3la9a, can also mean a coat rack or hanger, an object on which clothes are hung. Context distinguishes the two meanings.
Example
لا علاقة بالواقع
la 3ala9a bilwa9i3
“No connection to reality.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3ala9a” but also “3la9a”, “3ala9at” and “3alaqa”. 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 “3ala9a” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “relationship, connection”; “romantic relationship”: 3la9a in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “connection, link”; “relationship between people”: 3ala9a in Tunisian.
How to say “relationship” in Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian