misa7a مساحة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“misa7a” (مساحة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning area, surface.
Meanings
- area, surface
- space, available room
Usage
A word of standard origin, common in darija for talking about the area of a plot, an apartment or a room. It is often heard in real estate: misa7a dyal dar (the area of the house), chhal fiha misa7a? (what is its area?). It can also mean space in a broader sense, as in misa7a khedra (green space). To say that there is room, colloquial speech prefers blasa or the adjective wase3 (spacious). Measurements are expressed in mitro mourabba3 or simply mitro. Neutral register.
Example
شحال فيها المساحة ديال هاد الدار؟
ch7al fiha lmisa7a dyal had dar?
“What is the area of this house?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “misa7a” but also “missa7a”, “masa7a”, “misaha” and “misaa7a”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.