rb3a w tlatin ربعة وتلاتين
Moroccan Darija · numeral
“rb3a w tlatin” (ربعة وتلاتين) is a numeral in Moroccan Darija meaning thirty-four.
Meanings
- thirty-four
Usage
rb3a w tlatin means thirty-four. As with all compound numbers in Moroccan Arabic, the unit comes before the tens, joined by w ("and"): literally "four and thirty". This is the point that most puzzles English speakers, who are used to the reverse order. The counted noun that follows stays singular: "rb3a w tlatin 3am" (thirty-four years). It is heard for age, prices and quantities. In online writing, people often simply use the digits.
Example
عندو ربعة وتلاتين عام
3ndo rb3a w tlatin 3am
“He is thirty-four years old.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “rb3a w tlatin” but also “reb3a w tlatin”, “rab3a w tlatin”, “rb3a o tlatin” and “rb3a w tletin”. 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.