ma3had معهد

Moroccan Darija · noun

“ma3had” (معهد) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning institute, specialized school.

Meanings

1. institute, specialized school

Usage

Ma3had refers to an educational or training establishment. It can be a vocational training institute, a language school or a higher-education institute. The word comes from Standard Arabic but is common in speech, especially with the article: lma3had. For example, ka-nqra f wa7ed lma3had ("I study at an institute"). In everyday speech, many Moroccans also use the French word "institut", or "l'école" for private establishments. The plural is ma3ahid.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ma3had” but also “m3hed”, “ma38ad”, “me38ed” and “m3had”. 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; 8 is light ha (ه) or ghayn (غ), depending on the writer.

Type “ma3had” on the Arabic keyboard

In Tunisian Derja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “high school”; “institute (higher, specialized)”: ma3hed in Tunisian.