3bad عباد
Moroccan Darija · noun
“3bad” (عباد) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning people, persons.
Meanings
- people, persons
- servants of God
Usage
3bad is the plural of 3abd, literally "servant (of God)". In everyday usage, it simply means people, others. It is heard mostly in the phrase 3bad llah, "people" (literally "God's servants"). The word has a moral or religious coloring: it is used when talking about respecting people, doing good to them, not harming them. To say "people" in a neutral way, nas is more frequent. With 3bad, the sentence takes on a nuance of kindness or reproach.
Example
كايحترمو عباد الله
kay7tarmou 3ibad lah
“They respect people.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3bad” but also “3ibad” and “3ebad”. 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 “3bad” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “people, persons”; “creatures, servants of God”: 3bad in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “people”; “some people, a crowd”: 3bed in Tunisian.