sawb صاوب
Moroccan Darija · verb
“sawb” (صاوب) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to prepare, make (a dish, a thing).
Meanings
- to prepare, make (a dish, a thing)
- to fix, repair
- to build, craft
Usage
Sawb (present kaysawb) is a very common verb for making or preparing something concrete. It is used for a meal (sawb l7rira), an object or papers (sawb lwra9). It also means to repair or restore: sawb tomobil, sawb ttilifoun. It is more concrete and more informal than dar ("to do, make"). It is also heard in expressions like sawb rassek ("get ready, sort yourself out"). It is used in all registers of daily life.
Example
صاوبات لينا الحريرة
sawbat lina l7rira
“She made us harira.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kanSawb | Sawbt | |
| nta (you, m.) | katSawb | Sawbti | Sawb |
| nti (you, f.) | katSawbi | Sawbti | Sawbi |
| howa (he) | kaySawb | Sawb | |
| hiya (she) | katSawb | Sawbat | |
| 7na (we) | kanSawbo | Sawbna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katSawbo | Sawbto | Sawbo |
| homa (they) | kaySawbo | Sawbo |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sawb” but also “saweb”, “sawab” and “sayeb”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.