s9sa سقصى
Moroccan Darija · verb
“s9sa” (سقصى) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to ask a question.
Meanings
- to ask a question
- to inquire, find out
Usage
S9sa means to question someone or to ask for information. It takes a direct object for the person and the preposition 3la for the subject of the question: "s9situ 3la tri9", "I asked him the way". It competes with sewwel, which is also very common. Note for an English speaker: s9sa is for asking for information, not for requesting an object or a favour; for that, tleb is used instead. The corresponding noun, s9si, sometimes refers to the act of inquiring.
Example
سقصيتو على الطريق ديال المحطة
s9sito 3la tri9 dyal lm7atta
“I asked him the way to the station.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “s9sa” but also “se9sa”, “sqsa”, “s9ssa” and “seqsa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.
Type “s9sa” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to ask, to ask a question”; “to ask after someone”: sa9sa in Tunisian.