sb3a wtlatin سبعة وتلاتين
Moroccan Darija · numeral
“sb3a wtlatin” (سبعة وتلاتين) is a numeral in Moroccan Darija meaning thirty-seven.
Meanings
- thirty-seven
Usage
As in Standard Arabic and unlike English, the unit comes before the tens: sb3a w tlatin, literally "seven and thirty". The counted noun that follows stays singular: "sb3a w tlatin 3am" (thirty-seven years). It is used for age, prices, quantities and numbers. Be careful with prices: many Moroccans count in ryal or centimes rather than dirhams, so the same number can refer to very different amounts. The t of tlatin is often pronounced with slight emphasis.
Example
عندو سبعة وتلاتين عام
3ndo sb3a w tlatin 3am
“He is thirty-seven years old.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, it is written “sb3a wtlatin”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.