9a3 قاع
Moroccan Darija · noun
“9a3” (قاع) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning bottom (of a container, well).
Meanings
- bottom (of a container, well)
- bottom of the sea, a river
Usage
9a3 refers to the lowest part of a hollow object or place: the bottom of a bottle, a pot, a well or the sea. It is built with a complement: "f 9a3 l-bir" (at the bottom of the well), "9a3 l-bḥer" (the seabed). Watch out for a pitfall in writing: the same Arabic spelling is often used for "ga3", a very frequent word meaning "all, everyone" or "not at all" after a negation ("ma fhemt ga3"). Only context lets you tell them apart. In arabizi, "9a3" points rather to the bottom and "ga3" to totality.
Example
أوه و أنا ماكنتش كانشرب، حتا تكيلا مع دودة ف قاع القارورة!
oh o ana makntch kanchrb, 7ta tikilaa m3a doda f 9a3 l9ar3a!
“Oh, and no, I wasn't drinking, not even tequila with a worm at the bottom of the bottle!”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9a3” but also “qa3” and “ka3”. 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; 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.
Type “9a3” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “all, everyone, entirely”; “not at all (with negation)”: ga3 in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “bottom (of a container, the sea)”; “floor, ground”: 9a3 in Tunisian.