rrab3 الرابع
Moroccan Darija · numeral
“rrab3” (الرابع) is a numeral in Moroccan Darija meaning fourth.
Meanings
- fourth
Usage
Rrab3 is the ordinal of reb3a (four). It is placed after the noun, with the article, like an adjective: "ttabe9 rrab3" (the fourth floor), "nhar rrab3" (the fourth day). The feminine is rrab3a: "lmerra rrab3a" (the fourth time). In everyday language, ordinals beyond "first" and "second" are often replaced by a construction with the cardinal number, or by French for school grades and floors. Rrab3 is nonetheless still very common. Not to be confused with rrbe3 (the quarter), whose pronunciation is close.
Example
ساكن ف الطابق الرابع
sakn f ttabe9 rrab3
“I live on the fourth floor.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “rrab3” but also “rrabe3”, “rraba3”, “rab3” and “rabe3”. 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.