sa9ya ساقية
Moroccan Darija · noun
“sa9ya” (ساقية) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning irrigation channel or ditch.
Meanings
- irrigation channel or ditch
- water-lifting wheel
Usage
Sa9ya means a small channel or ditch that carries water to fields and gardens. The word belongs mainly to rural and farming vocabulary. The plural is swa9i. Do not confuse it with s9aya, the public fountain of the medinas, which sounds similar. It appears in expressions and songs about the countryside. In cities it is heard less often, except when talking about gardens or oases.
Example
الما كيدوز فالساقية للجنان
lma kaydouz f sa9ya l jnan
“The water runs through the channel to the gardens.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sa9ya” but also “saqia”, “saqya”, “sa9iya” and “sagya”. 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 “sa9ya” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “small irrigation channel”; “waterwheel”: sagya in Tunisian.