ghiyab غياب
Moroccan Darija · noun
“ghiyab” (غياب) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning absence (school, work).
Meanings
- absence (school, work)
- being away, distance
Usage
Ghiyab means absence, especially in a school or work setting: lghiyab bzzaf, "too many absences". It is related to the verb ghab, "to be absent, to disappear". The word is also used for the distance of a person you haven't seen for a long time, with an affectionate nuance. To say "absent", use ghayeb. The register is neutral and the word is understood everywhere. It often appears with the article: lghiyab. It is also found in administrative vocabulary, for example in a justification of absence.
Example
كثر عليه الغياب هاد العام
kter 3lih lghiyab had l3am
“He has a lot of absences this year.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ghiyab” but also “ghyab”, “ghiab” and “riyab”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “ghiyab” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “absence”; “lack (of something)”: ghyab in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “absence (of a person)”; “lack, lack of something”: ghiyab in Tunisian.