ma3na معنى
Moroccan Darija · noun
“ma3na” (معنى) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning meaning, sense.
Meanings
- meaning, sense
- point, purpose
Usage
Ma3na is the usual word for the meaning of a statement, a word or a situation. It often appears in negative or interrogative phrases. Bla ma3na means "absurd, pointless": lhadra bla ma3na, empty words. Ma 3andu ta ma3na means "it makes no sense". Wach 3andu chi ma3na? is equivalent to "does it hold together?". To ask what a word means, say chnu ma3na…? or chnu ka-y3ni…? The plural ma3ani belongs mostly to a more formal register.
Example
واش هادشي عندو شي معنى؟
wach hadchi 3ando chi ma3na?
“Does all this make any sense?”
Forms
| plural | m3ani |
|---|
Forms as recorded in DODa, in its spelling.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ma3na” but also “m3na”, “me3na”, “maana” and “ma3ana”. 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 “ma3na” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “meaning, sense”; “value, importance”: ma3na in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “meaning, sense”; “ma3neha: that means”: ma3na in Tunisian.