3odr عذر
Moroccan Darija · noun
“3odr” (عذر) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning excuse, justification.
Meanings
- excuse, justification
- valid reason, impediment
Usage
3odr refers to an excuse or a reason that justifies an absence or a failing. People say ma 3ndek 3odr, "you have no excuse", and 3ndo 3odr, "he has a good reason". The word refers to the justification itself. To apologize, people use smeh liya or sm7li, "forgive me", instead. Be careful not to confuse it with 3dra, which means "virgin".
Example
هاد المرة ماعندكش عذر
had lmerra ma3ndeksh 3odr
“This time you have no excuse.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3odr” but also “3oder”, “3der” and “3dr”. 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.