m3raka معركة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“m3raka” (معركة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning battle, military combat.
Meanings
- battle, military combat
- brawl, fierce struggle
Usage
M3raka first means a battle in the historical or military sense, and it is often heard in stories about the past, in films or in the news. In everyday conversation, the word is also used figuratively for a violent quarrel, a fight or a hard struggle, for example to get an administrative paper or a seat on the bus. The register is neutral, slightly formal. For a simple fight between people, dabza is more common. The usual plural is m3arik.
Example
داك الفيلم كايحكي على معركة كبيرة
dak lfilm kay7ki 3la m3raka kbira
“That film tells the story of a great battle.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “m3raka” but also “ma3raka”, “me3raka” and “m3arka”. 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 “m3raka” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “battle, combat”; “brawl, violent quarrel”: ma3raka in Algerian.