asas أساس
Moroccan Darija · noun
“asas” (أساس) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning basis, foundation.
Meanings
- basis, foundation
- supposedly, on the grounds that
Usage
Asas means base or foundation, in both the concrete and the abstract sense: a good basis to start with, the foundations of a house. The very frequent construction 3la asas introduces an intention or supposition: "with the idea of", "supposedly". So jit 3la asas nt3allem means "I came with the idea of learning", and 3la asas can also express ironic doubt, like "supposedly". For an English speaker, it is worth spotting this use, which is often more frequent in speech than the literal meaning. Plural: usus, rare.
Example
واخا، هادي غادي تعطينا أساس زوين باش نبداو بيه المرة الجاية
wakha, hadi ghadi t3tina asas zwin bach nbdaw bih lmrra jaya
“OK, this will give us a good basis to start from next time.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “asas” but also “2asas” and “assas”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 2 is hamza (ء), a glottal stop.
Type “asas” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “basis, foundation”; “supposedly, as if (3la asas)”: asas in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “basis, foundation”; “supposedly, under the pretext that (3la asas)”: asas in Tunisian.