la3ib لاعب
Moroccan Darija · noun
“la3ib” (لاعب) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning player (sport).
Meanings
- player (sport)
- playing
Usage
La3ib, close to the Standard Arabic form, means player, especially in football: la3ib dyal lwidad, a7sen la3ib. The word is common in sports commentary and in conversations about matches. Pronounced la3eb, it is the participle of the verb l3eb ("to play"): ana la3eb lyoum ("I'm playing today"). People also say rasek la3eb ("you think you're playing") to reproach someone for their lightness or lack of seriousness. The form le33ab means rather a good player or someone who loves to play. The feminine is la3iba, and the plural is la3ibin.
Example
هادا أحسن لاعب فالفرقة ديالنا
hada a7ssen la3ib f lfer9a dyalna
“This is the best player on our team.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “la3ib” but also “la3eb”, “laeb” and “le33ab”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.
Type “la3ib” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “player (sports, especially football)”; “player (games, video games)”: la3eb in Algerian.