n99es نقّص
Moroccan Darija · verb
“n99es” (نقّص) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to reduce, decrease.
Meanings
- to reduce, decrease
- to shorten, trim a little
- to lower the price
Usage
N99es is transitive: it means to "reduce" or "decrease" something. It is often used with men: n99es men lmel7, "put in less salt". At the market, n99es liya is the usual phrase for asking for a price reduction. Distinguish it from n9es, without the doubled consonant, which is intransitive: something decreases by itself, as in n9es liya chchouf, "my eyesight has got worse". In a construction like zayed na9es, the expression means "no matter".
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kann99eS | n99eSt | |
| nta (you, m.) | katn99eS | n99eSti | n99eS |
| nti (you, f.) | katn99Si | n99eSti | n99Si |
| howa (he) | kayn99eS | n99eS | |
| hiya (she) | katn99eS | n99Sat | |
| 7na (we) | kann99So | n99Sna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katn99So | n99Sto | n99So |
| homa (they) | kayn99So | n99So |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “n99es” but also “n99as”, “n99s” and “neqqes”. 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.
Type “n99es” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to reduce, lower, turn down”; “to consume less of something”: na9es in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to reduce, cut down (transitive)”; “to lower (sound, price)”: na99es in Tunisian.