sa7a ساحة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“sa7a” (ساحة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning public square.
Meanings
- public square
- courtyard (of a school, institution)
- open space, field
Usage
Sa7a refers to a public square: sa7at Jamaa lFna in Marrakech, sa7at lma3rid... It is also used for a school playground (sa7a dyal lmdrasa) or for an open space where people gather or play football. The plural is sa7at. In the construct state, it is pronounced sa7at: sa7at l7amam. In some contexts, sa7a can also mean "the field" in a figurative sense (sa7a siyasiya, the political scene), but this use belongs mostly to journalistic register.
Example
تلاقينا فالساحة حدا الجامع
tla9ina f ssa7a 7da jjame3
“We met in the square next to the mosque.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sa7a” but also “saa7a”, “saha” and “saaha”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.
Type “sa7a” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “public square”; “yard (of a school, building)”: sa7a in Tunisian.