9tisad قتصاد
Moroccan Darija · noun
“9tisad” (قتصاد) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning economy (of a country, a sector).
Meanings
- economy (of a country, a sector)
- economics
Usage
9tiSad is a learned word, borrowed from Standard Arabic. It is mostly used with the article: l9tiSad, "the economy". It often comes up in discussions about the cost of living, in the news or in studies ("kanqra l9tiSad", "I study economics"). Pitfall: it does not mean "to save money". To save money, you say "jme3 lflous" or "wfer". In everyday conversation, people often prefer to talk about "l7ala" ("the situation") rather than l9tiSad.
Example
لقتصاد ديال لبلاد ماشي مزيان هاد لعام
l9tiSad dyal lblad machi mzyan had l3am
“The country's economy isn't doing well this year.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9tisad” but also “i9tisad” and “9tissad”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.