ijhad إجهاض
Moroccan Darija · noun
“ijhad” (إجهاض) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning abortion, termination of pregnancy.
Meanings
- abortion, termination of pregnancy
- miscarriage
Usage
Ijhad is a Standard Arabic term. In Morocco it is used in public debates, on radio and television, and in medical vocabulary. In everyday speech, people more often say that a woman "tle7" or "tle7at" her baby, meaning she loses it or aborts it. The word mainly refers to voluntary abortion as a legal or moral issue, in a serious, even activist tone. For a miscarriage, a family will rarely say ijhad: a more discreet verbal phrasing is preferred.
Example
كاين نقاش كبير على الإجهاض فالمغرب
kayn n9ach kbir 3la l2ijhad f lmaghrib
“There is a big debate about abortion in Morocco.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ijhad” but also “ij8ad” and “2ijhad”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 2 is hamza (ء), a glottal stop; 8 is light ha (ه) or ghayn (غ), depending on the writer.