3jeb عجب
Moroccan Darija · verb
“3jeb” (عجب) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to please someone, be liked.
Meanings
- to please someone, be liked
- to impress, win over
Usage
The verb 3jeb is the exact equivalent of "to please" (to be pleasing to). The thing that pleases is the subject and the person is the object, as in English: "3jebni had lfilm" means I liked this film (this film pleased me). The pitfall for an English speaker is to copy "to like" with the person as subject. Say "3jbatni" (she appealed to me), not "3jebt-ha". In the imperfect, you say "ka-y3jebni" (it pleases me) or "ma-3jebnich" (I didn't like it). The word is very common, in all registers, for tastes, people or ideas.
Example
كون غير قدرت ن عجب كولشي
koun ghir 9dert n 3jeb koulchi
“If only I could please everyone.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kan3jb | 3jbt | |
| nta (you, m.) | kat3jb | 3jbti | 3jb |
| nti (you, f.) | kat3jbi | 3jbti | 3jbi |
| howa (he) | kay3jb | 3jb | |
| hiya (she) | kat3jb | 3jbat | |
| 7na (we) | kan3jbo | 3jbna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | kat3jbo | 3jbto | 3jbo |
| homa (they) | kay3jbo | 3jbo |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3jeb” but also “3jb” and “3jab”. 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 “3jeb” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to please someone, be liked”; “wonder, amazing thing (noun)”: 3jeb in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to please, to appeal to someone”; “to amaze, surprise (fixed sense)”: 3jeb in Tunisian.