n3es نعس
Moroccan Darija · verb
“n3es” (نعس) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to sleep.
Meanings
- to sleep
- to fall asleep, go to bed
Usage
N3es is the common verb for "to sleep" and "to fall asleep". In the past, you say n3es (he slept) and n3est (I slept); in the present, kan3es (I sleep) and kayn3es (he sleeps); in the future, ghadi n3es or gha n3es (I'm going to sleep). The same form is used as the imperative: n3es!, "sleep!". To express the action of going to bed, mcha n3es is often used. In writing, the form n3as is ambiguous: it can write the verb or the noun "sleep". The causative n33es means "to put to sleep" or "to make sleep", for example a child.
Example
غا نمشي نعس
gha nmshi n3s
“I'm going to go sleep.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kann3s | n3st | |
| nta (you, m.) | katn3s | n3sti | n3s |
| nti (you, f.) | katn3si | n3sti | n3si |
| howa (he) | kayn3s | n3s | |
| hiya (she) | katn3s | n3sat | |
| 7na (we) | kann3so | n3sna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katn3so | n3sto | n3so |
| homa (they) | kayn3so | n3so |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “n3es” but also “n3s”, “n3as”, “n3ss” and “na3s”. 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.