dobb دبّ
Moroccan Darija · noun
“dobb” (دبّ) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning bear (animal).
Meanings
- bear (animal)
- now (short spelling of daba)
Usage
Pronounced dobb, with a doubled b, the word means "bear". It is used figuratively for a person who is heavy, bulky or unsociable. Important pitfall: in writing, especially in arabizi, the same sequence of letters db is very often an abbreviation of daba, "now": ana db nji (I'm coming now), db 4 chhor (it has now been four months). This is in fact the most frequent use of this spelling online. Only context can settle it: an animal noun or an adverb of time.
Example
شفنا دبّ كبير فالسيرك
chefna dobb kbir f sirk
“We saw a big bear at the circus.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “dobb” but also “dob”, “debb” and “db”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “dobb” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “bear”; “heavy, clumsy person”: dob in Tunisian.