rbe3 sa3a ربع ساعة

Moroccan Darija · expression

“rbe3 sa3a” (ربع ساعة) is an expression in Moroccan Darija meaning quarter of an hour, fifteen minutes.

Meanings

1. quarter of an hour, fifteen minutes

Usage

rbe3 sa3a is the usual way to say "a quarter of an hour". It is used for a duration ("wait for me rbe3 sa3a") and for telling the time: "sa3a w rbe3" means a quarter past one, "jouj ghir rbe3" means a quarter to two. The word rbe3 (quarter) goes before sa3a without an article. For half an hour, one says nos sa3a. Be careful not to confuse rbe3 (quarter) with rb3a (four): they sound similar but are not placed in the same position.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “rbe3 sa3a” but also “rba3 sa3a”, “rb3 sa3a” and “robo3 sa3a”. 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 “rbe3 sa3a” on the Arabic keyboard

In Tunisian Derja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “quarter of an hour, fifteen minutes”: rob3 se3a in Tunisian.