fw9t ma فوقت ما
Moroccan Darija · conjunction
“fw9t ma” (فوقت ما) is a conjunction in Moroccan Darija meaning at the moment when, when.
Meanings
- at the moment when, when
- whenever
Usage
F w9t ma introduces a temporal clause followed by a conjugated verb: "at the moment when", "when". Example: f w9t ma wselt "when I arrived". With an imperfect verb, it can take the sense of "whenever" or "as soon as". Example: f w9t ma bghiti, ji "come whenever you want". It is more precise than mlli, which is the most common conjunction for "when". A frequent pitfall is using fo9ach in its place: fo9ach is used only to ask a question.
Example
فوقت ما وصلت، كان ديجا مشا
f w9t ma wselt, kan deja mcha
“When I arrived, he had already left.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “fw9t ma” but also “fwa9t ma” and “fou9t ma”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.