sarra9 سراق
Moroccan Darija · noun
“sarra9” (سراق) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning thief.
Meanings
- thief
Usage
Sarraq means "thief". It comes from the verb sreq, "to steal, to pilfer". The feminine is sarraqa, and the plural is sarraqin. The word is common, but chffar is also often used; it has the same meaning and a more informal register. Sarraq can be used to call someone dishonest, for example a shopkeeper who charges excessive prices. It then carries a tone of reproach. In online writing, the q is very often written 9.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sarra9” but also “sarraq”, “sara9”, “serra9” and “saraq”. 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 “sarra9” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “thief”; “crook, dishonest person (figurative)”: sarrag in Algerian.