3rbi عربي
Moroccan Darija · adjective
“3rbi” (عربي) is an adjective in Moroccan Darija meaning Arab (person, origin).
Meanings
- Arab (person, origin)
- Arabic (language, culture)
- Arabic-speaking (as opposed to Amazigh)
Usage
3rbi means "Arab" and applies to people, countries or things. The feminine is 3rbiya, the plural l3rab. In Morocco, it is also used to distinguish an Arabic speaker from an Amazigh. For an object, it often marks a traditional or local character, as in l7mmam l3rbi, "the traditional hammam". Do not confuse it with 3roubi, "rural, from the countryside", which sometimes has a pejorative nuance. 3rbi also exists as a first name.
Forms
| feminine | 3rbia |
|---|---|
| plural | 3robia |
| feminine plural | 3robiat |
Forms as recorded in DODa, in its spelling.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3rbi” but also “3arbi”, “3erbi” and “3arabi”. 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 “3rbi” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “Arab (person, language)”; “traditional, local, homemade”: 3arbi in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “Arab, Arabic”; “traditional, local”: 3arbi in Tunisian.