sb3emya سبعمية
Moroccan Darija · numeral
“sb3emya” (سبعمية) is a numeral in Moroccan Darija meaning seven hundred.
Meanings
- seven hundred
Usage
Sb3emya means "seven hundred"; it is formed from seb3a and mya (hundred). Before a noun it is used directly and the noun stays singular: "sb3emya derham". It is heard mostly for prices and quantities. Be careful with money: in speech, many Moroccans count in ryal, and "sb3emya" can then mean a sum far below seven hundred dirhams. People often add "derham" to avoid ambiguity. For seven thousand, say sb3a alaf.
Example
التيليفون داير سبعمية درهم
t-tilifon dayer sb3emya derham
“The phone costs seven hundred dirhams.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sb3emya” but also “seb3mya”, “sb3miya”, “sab3amya” and “sba3mya”. 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.