rbi3 ربيع
Moroccan Darija · noun
“rbi3” (ربيع) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning grass, greenery, green fodder.
Meanings
- grass, greenery, green fodder
- spring
Usage
In everyday speech, rbi3 mainly refers to the green grass that grows after rain and to the fresh fodder given to animals. Examples: lbhayem kaykelu rbi3, "the animals are eating grass", or l'rbi3 tla3, "the grass has come up". For the season, people often say fsel rbi3, "the spring season", to avoid ambiguity. It is a collective, uncountable noun. Rabi3 is also a common male first name. The word has no particular slang meaning.
Example
غانمشيو نبيعو ربيع
ghanmchiw nbi3ou rbi3
“We're going to go sell fresh grass (fodder).”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “rbi3” but also “rabi3”, “rrbi3”, “rbii3” and “rbi3e”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find ربيع and الربيع, all the same word.
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 “rbi3” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “spring (season)”; “grass, greenery”: rbi3 in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
The same word also exists in Tunisian Derja, written الربيع, where it means “spring (season)”; “grass, greenery”: rbi3 in Tunisian.