beyya3 بيّاع
Moroccan Darija · noun
“beyya3” (بيّاع) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning seller, vendor.
Meanings
- seller, vendor
- traitor, snitch
Usage
Byya3 is formed from the verb ba3, "to sell". It refers to someone who sells, often in expressions such as byya3 w chrray, "seller and buyer". The figurative sense is very common in informal speech: someone who "sells" other people, that is, a traitor or snitch. For example: huwa byya3, ma tiqch fih, "he's a traitor, don't trust him". It is a serious accusation. For a simple shopkeeper, lli kaybi3 or a specific trade name is more often used. The feminine is byya3a.
Example
البيّاع ما بغاش ينقص فالثمن
lbyya3 ma bghach yne9es f ttaman
“The seller didn't want to lower the price.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “beyya3” but also “bya3”, “beya3” and “biya3”. 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.
Type “beyya3” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “snitch, informer”; “traitor, one who betrays his own”: baya3 in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “seller, vendor”; “traitor, snitch (slang)”: bayya3 in Tunisian.