jou9a جوقة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“jou9a” (جوقة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning crowd, group of people.
Meanings
- crowd, group of people
- gang, bunch (often pejorative)
- troupe, musical band
Usage
Jouqa refers to a group of people gathered together, often informally or in a disorderly way: a crowd in front of a shop, a gang of youths on the street corner. In this sense, the word can carry a pejorative nuance. The construction fre9 jjouqa, "to disperse the crowd", is common, especially when talking about the police. Jouqa is also heard for a troupe of musicians or an orchestra, especially in traditional music. The plural is jouqat. For a neutral group of friends, jma3a or chella is used instead.
Example
جو البوليس فرقو جوقة
jaw lbouliss fr9ou jou9a
“The police came and dispersed the crowd.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “jou9a” but also “jouqa”, “jo9a”, “jw9a” and “jouka”. 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.