b3d lmrrat بعد لمرّات
Moroccan Darija · adverb
“b3d lmrrat” (بعد لمرّات) is an adverb in Moroccan Darija meaning sometimes, from time to time.
Meanings
- sometimes, from time to time
Usage
A very common adverbial phrase, literally "some of the times". It often comes at the start of a sentence: b3d lmrrat kanmchi l bhar, "sometimes I go to the sea". It can also come after the verb. It expresses irregular frequency, weaker than dima ("always") and bezzaf dyal lmrrat ("often"). The short singular variant b3d lmerra is also heard, with the same meaning. The word b3d means "some" here, not "after". That is the main pitfall, because the whole phrase has to be read as a fixed block.
Example
بعد لمرّات كنتعشّى برّا
b3d lmrrat kant3echa berra
“Sometimes I eat dinner out.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “b3d lmrrat” but also “b3d lmerrat”, “ba3d lmarrat”, “be3d lmerrat” and “b3d lmrat”. 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.