b9a بقا
Moroccan Darija · verb
“b9a” (بقا) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to stay, remain.
Meanings
- to stay, remain
- to keep on doing
- to feel pity for (b9a f-)
Usage
This common verb covers "stay" in the sense of place (b9a f ddar) and "be left over" (b9a ghi chwiya, "only a little is left"). Followed by an imperfect verb or a participle, it expresses continuity: b9a kaybki, "he kept on crying". With the preposition f- followed by a pronoun, it expresses compassion: b9iti fiya means "you make me sad". In the negative, mab9itch indicates that one no longer does something: mab9itch nkmi, "I no longer smoke". The q is often pronounced [g] or [q] depending on the region.
Example
بقا غير غدا
b9a ghi ghda
“Only tomorrow is left.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kanb9a | b9it | |
| nta (you, m.) | katb9a | b9iti | b9a |
| nti (you, f.) | katb9ay | b9iti | b9ay |
| howa (he) | kayb9a | b9a | |
| hiya (she) | katb9a | b9at | |
| 7na (we) | kanb9aw | b9ina | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katb9aw | b9ito | b9aw |
| homa (they) | kayb9aw | b9ao |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “b9a” but also “bqa”, “b9aa”, “bga”, “bka” and “bqaa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find بقا and بقى, all the same word.
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 “b9a” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
The same word also exists in Algerian Darja, written بقى, where it means “to stay, remain”; “to keep on doing”: b9a in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
The same word also exists in Tunisian Derja, written بقى, where it means “to stay, to remain”; “to become, to end up”: b9a in Tunisian.