bka بكا
Moroccan Darija · verb
“bka” (بكا) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to cry, to weep.
Meanings
- to cry, to weep
- to complain, whine
Usage
Bka is the common verb for "to cry", imperfect ybki ("ma tbkich", don't cry). It takes 3la for the person or thing mourned: "bka 3la mmo" (he cried over his mother). The verbal noun is l-bka (crying). The proverb "drebni w bka, sbe9ni w chka" describes someone who wrongs you and then plays the victim. By extension, bka can mean to complain or to demand insistently. Do not confuse it with b9a (to stay), whose Latin spelling "bka" is sometimes identical.
Example
غطّا وجهو و بكا
ghTTa wj8ou w bka
“He covered his face and cried.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kanbki | bkat | |
| nta (you, m.) | katbki | bkiti | bki |
| nti (you, f.) | katbki | bkiti | bki |
| howa (he) | kaybki | bka | |
| hiya (she) | katbki | bkaat | |
| 7na (we) | kanbkiw | bkina | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katbkiw | bkito | bkiw |
| homa (they) | kaybkiw | bkao |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “bka” but also “bkaa”, “beka” and “bki”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.