dawa داوا
Moroccan Darija · verb
“dawa” (داوا) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to treat, cure a patient.
Meanings
- to treat, cure a patient
- to heal, get treated (tdawa)
- to remedy a problem
Usage
A transitive verb, conjugated dawa in the past and ydawi in the present. It means to treat someone or to cure an ailment: ṭṭbib dawah (the doctor treated him). The reflexive form tdawa, or ytdawa in the present, means "to get treated" or "to follow a treatment". The verb belongs to the same family as dwa, medicine. Figuratively, dawi rassek ("get yourself treated") is said mockingly to someone considered unreasonable. Do not confuse it with the noun dwa.
Example
الطبيب داواه مزيان
ṭṭbib dawah mzyan
“The doctor treated him well.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kandaawi | daawit | |
| nta (you, m.) | katdaawi | daawiti | daawi |
| nti (you, f.) | katdaawi | daawiti | daawi |
| howa (he) | kaydaawi | daawa | |
| hiya (she) | katdaawi | daawaat | |
| 7na (we) | kandaawiw | daawina | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katdaawiw | daawito | daawiw |
| homa (they) | kaydaawiw | daawao |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “dawa” but also “daawa”, “dawwa” and “dawaa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find داوا and داوى, all the same word.
Type “dawa” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
The same word also exists in Tunisian Derja, written داوى, where it means “to treat, nurse a sick person”; “to treat with a remedy”: dewa in Tunisian.