mo9ddas مقدّس
Moroccan Darija · adjective
“mo9ddas” (مقدّس) is an adjective in Moroccan Darija meaning sacred, holy.
Meanings
- sacred, holy
- untouchable, beyond criticism
Usage
Mo9ddas describes what is religious: a place, a book, a revered figure. It is often used to remind people that something must not be mocked or insulted, in phrases like rah mo9ddas "it's sacred". By extension, it applies to what a person regards as inviolable, such as family, country or a principle, sometimes with a touch of irony. The word comes from Classical Arabic and keeps a somewhat formal register, but it is in common use. It agrees in gender and number: mo9ddsa in the feminine, mo9ddsin in the plural. The 9 represents the sound "q".
Example
راه مقدس هاد الكتاب تاواحد مايقدر يقيسو
rah mo9ddass had lktab tawa7ed may9der y9isso
“This book is sacred, nobody can touch it.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mo9ddas” but also “mo9addas”, “mqaddas”, “m9ddas” and “mo9adas”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.