me3den معدن
Moroccan Darija · noun
“me3den” (معدن) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning metal.
Meanings
- metal
- true nature, character of a person
- ore
Usage
Me3den means metal as a material: "dyal lme3den" means "made of metal". In its very lively figurative sense, it means a person's true nature. "Me3den bnadem kayban m3a lweqt" means that people's true character shows over time. A loyal person is said to have a "me3den nqi" (a pure nature). In mining, the plural ma3aden means ores and mines. The pronunciation varies between me3den and ma3din, the latter being closer to standard Arabic.
Example
هاد الباب ديال المعدن
had lbab dyal lme3den
“This door is made of metal.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “me3den” but also “ma3din”, “m3den” and “m3dn”. 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.