nfe3 نفع
Moroccan Darija · verb
“nfe3” (نفع) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to be useful, to serve.
Meanings
- to be useful, to serve
- to benefit, to do good to
Usage
Nfe3 means "to be useful" or "to do good". It is used for an object, a piece of advice, a remedy or a person. With a suffixed pronoun, it marks the beneficiary: nfe3ni, "it helped me". The negative form is very common: ma kaynfe3ch, "it's no use". It is also heard in blessings, such as llah ynfe3 bik, "may God make you someone useful". The noun nnaf3 means usefulness or benefit. Pitfall: nnafe3, with the article, is also commonly the word for green anise, notably in drinks and pastries.
Example
هاد الدوا نفعني بزاف
had ddwa nfe3ni bzzaf
“This medicine helped me a lot.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kannfe3 | nfe3t | |
| nta (you, m.) | katnfe3 | nfe3ti | nfe3 |
| nti (you, f.) | katnf3i | nfe3ti | nf3i |
| howa (he) | kaynfe3 | nfe3 | |
| hiya (she) | katnfe3 | nf3at | |
| 7na (we) | kannf3o | nf3na | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katnf3o | nf3to | nf3o |
| homa (they) | kaynf3o | nf3o |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “nfe3” but also “nfa3”, “nf3” and “nefe3”. 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.
Type “nfe3” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to be useful, to serve a purpose”; “to benefit someone, do good”: nfa3 in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to be useful, to serve”; “to work, to be effective”: nfa3 in Tunisian.