mdina مدينة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“mdina” (مدينة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning city, town.
Meanings
- city, town
- medina, old city
Usage
Mdina is the usual word for "city". The plural is mdun. With the article, lmdina can mean the city centre. It can also mean the medina, the old walled city with narrow alleys, as opposed to the modern districts. Context decides. A pronunciation closer to Standard Arabic, madina, is heard in formal settings. To contrast city with countryside, people say mdina as opposed to l3roubiya or lbadiya. To talk about where one comes from, lbled is often used.
Example
أنا ف مدينة بعيدة
ana f mdina b3ida
“I'm in a faraway city.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mdina” but also “madina”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “mdina” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “city, town”; “town centre, old town”: mdina in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “city, town”; “medina, old town”: mdina in Tunisian.