baba بابا
Moroccan Darija · noun
“baba” (بابا) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning dad, father.
Meanings
- dad, father
Usage
Baba is the affectionate, everyday word for one's own father. It is used to call him directly ("baba!") and to talk about him to others. Without a possessive, it already means "my father": "baba ma kaynch" means "my father isn't here". The short form bba is also very common, often in the pair "mmi w bba" (mum and dad). To talk about someone else's father, bbak (your father) or "bba dyalo" is generally preferred. The more neutral or more distant term is lwalid.
Example
فين هوا بابا؟
fin hewa baba?
“Where is dad?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “baba” but also “bba” and “papa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “baba” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “dad, father”; “respectful title for an elder”: baba in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “dad, father”: baba in Tunisian.