mosaba9a مسابقة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“mosaba9a” (مسابقة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning contest, competition.
Meanings
- contest, competition
- prize contest
Usage
A word borrowed from Standard Arabic and well integrated into darija. It is usually pronounced mosab9a or msab9a. It refers equally to a school or cultural contest (reading contest, Quran recitation contest), a sports competition, or a prize contest on radio or television. The usual phrases are charek f chi mosab9a (to take part in a contest) and rbe7 f lmosab9a (to win the contest). For an entrance or recruitment competition, Moroccans more readily say lkonkour, borrowed from French. The register is neutral, slightly formal.
Example
أنشارك في مسابقة ديال القراءة
anchark f mosaba9a dial l9ira2a
“I'm going to take part in a reading contest.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mosaba9a” but also “musaba9a”, “mosab9a”, “msab9a” and “mousaba9a”. 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.