ra را
Moroccan Darija · particle
“ra” (را) is a particle in Moroccan Darija meaning presentative particle, "it's that".
Meanings
- presentative particle, "it's that"
- emphasis, "mind you"
Usage
Ra is a very frequent particle that presents a situation as current or obvious. It generally takes a pronoun suffix: rani (I am), rak (you are), rah (he is), raha (she is), rahom (they are). The bare form ra or rah is also used before a noun or a participle: ra kayn, "there is some". It has no direct English equivalent: depending on context, it is rendered as "here", "it's that", "mind you", or left untranslated. It often serves to draw attention or to insist. It is used in all spoken registers.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ra” but also “raa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “ra” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “presentative particle: here is, look”; “marks a present state ("to be")”: ra in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to see, to notice”; “(trah) come on, please”: ra in Tunisian.