ch8er rb3a شهر ربعة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“ch8er rb3a” (شهر ربعة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning April.
Meanings
- April
Usage
Chher rb3a literally means "month four" and refers to April. Naming the months by their number is the most widespread way in spoken Moroccan Arabic. The names "abril" or "avril" are also heard, especially among bilingual speakers. The number follows chher directly, with no article: "f chher rb3a" (in April). For a specific date, put the day first: "3achra f chher rb3a" (the tenth of April). Watch the word order: "rb3a chhor" means "four months", a duration, not the month of April.
Example
الامتحانات كيبداو ف شهر ربعة
lmti7anat kaybdaw f chher rb3a
“Exams start in April.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ch8er rb3a” but also “ch8ar rb3a”, “ch8r rb3a” and “ch8er reb3a”. 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; 8 is light ha (ه) or ghayn (غ), depending on the writer.