r9a9 رقاق
Moroccan Darija · adjective
“r9a9” (رقاق) is an adjective in Moroccan Darija meaning thin, fine (plural).
Meanings
- thin, fine (plural)
- skinny, slim (people)
Usage
Rqaq is the plural of the adjective rqiq, "thin, fine", following the same pattern as kbir/kbar or sġir/sġar. It describes thin objects: slices, fabric, sheets of dough or threads (ḥwayj rqaq "light clothes"). It can also refer to thin or skinny people. In the singular, rqiq is also used figuratively, for a thin voice or a delicate person. The pitfall is forgetting plural agreement: you say lxobzat rqaq and not rqiq when the noun is plural.
Example
قطع لي الطماطم طرافي رقاق
9te3 liya tomatich trafi r9a9
“Cut me the tomatoes into thin slices.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “r9a9” but also “rqaq”, “r9aq”, “rka9” and “rkak”. 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.