3an bo3d عن بعد
Moroccan Darija · expression
“3an bo3d” (عن بعد) is an expression in Moroccan Darija meaning remotely, at a distance.
Meanings
- remotely, at a distance
Usage
3an bo3d is an expression borrowed from Standard Arabic and now very common in Morocco for remote education and work: ta3lim 3an bo3d (distance learning), lkhedma 3an bo3d (remote work). It is placed after the noun it qualifies and does not agree with it. In conversation, many people also say "à distance" in French, or "en ligne". Do not confuse it with men b3id ("from afar"), which keeps a purely spatial meaning.
Example
هاد العام القرايا كانت عن بعد
had l3am l9raya kant 3an bo3d
“This year, classes were held remotely.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3an bo3d” but also “3an bou3d”, “3n bo3d”, “an bo3d” and “3an bo3od”. 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 “3an bo3d” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “remotely, at a distance”; “online, without physical presence”: 3an bo3d in Tunisian.