9wwa قوة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“9wwa” (قوة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning physical strength, vigor.
Meanings
- physical strength, vigor
- power, might
- nerve, boldness
Usage
The noun 9wwa first refers to physical strength: of a sturdy man, you say "3ndo 9wwa". It also applies to the power of a machine, a medicine or a team. In colloquial speech, "3ndo 9wwa" can also refer to the nerve of someone who dares anything. Pitfall for an English speaker: the same written form also corresponds to the verb 9wwa, "to strengthen". In "9wwa 3lina", this verb means "he overdid it, he went too far with us". It is the context and the construction with 3la that distinguish the noun from the verb.
Example
هاد الراجل عندو قوة بزاف
had rrajel 3ndo 9wwa bzzaf
“This man is very strong.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9wwa” but also “9owwa”, “qowa”, “9uwwa”, “qwwa” and “9oaw”. 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.
Type “9wwa” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “strength, power”; “awesome, great (praise)”: qowwa in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “strength, power”; “by force, necessarily (bel 9owwa)”: 9owwa in Tunisian.