dfe3 دفع
Moroccan Darija · verb
“dfe3” (دفع) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to push.
Meanings
- to push
- to submit (a file), apply
- to sign up (for a competitive exam)
Usage
The verb dfe3 first means "to push": a door, a person, a broken-down car. It is often built with b-, as in dfe3 biya, "push me", or with a direct object. In administrative usage it has taken on a very common meaning: to submit a file or an application, as in dfe3 l-mlaf or dfe3 l-concours. The object is then often introduced without a preposition. Do not confuse it with difa3, "defense". For "to pay", people rather say khelles.
Example
أجي دفع بيا تونوبيل
aji dfe3 bia tonobil
“Come push my car.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kandf3 | df3t | |
| nta (you, m.) | katdf3 | df3ti | df3 |
| nti (you, f.) | katdf3i | df3ti | df3i |
| howa (he) | kaydf3 | df3 | |
| hiya (she) | katdf3 | df3at | |
| 7na (we) | kandf3o | df3na | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katdf3o | df3to | df3o |
| homa (they) | kaydf3o | df3o |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “dfe3” but also “dfa3”, “df3”, “dfaa” and “defa3”. 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 “dfe3” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to push, shove”; “to pay (formal register)”: dfa3 in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “push”; “pay (formal)”: dfa3 in Tunisian.