seb3a سبعة
Moroccan Darija · numeral
“seb3a” (سبعة) is a numeral in Moroccan Darija meaning seven.
Meanings
- seven
Usage
Seb3a is the full form of the number seven. It is used on its own, when counting, or before a noun, often with d: "seb3a d l-iyyam" (seven days). With common units, the short form seb3 followed directly by the noun is also heard: "seb3 snin". Spoken usage also allows "seb3a dqayq". For the time, one says "s-seb3a" (seven o'clock). The number seven often appears in expressions, such as "seb3 rwah" (seven lives), said of someone who gets out of everything unscathed. For an English speaker, the main pitfall is pronouncing the 3 (ʿayn), which must not be left out.
Example
خاصني سبعة دقايق و غان كمل
khasani seb3a dqayq w ghan kemel
“I need seven minutes and I'll be done.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “seb3a” but also “sb3a”, “sab3a”, “sebaa” and “sba3a”. 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.
Type “seb3a” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “seven”: seb3a in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “seven”: sab3a in Tunisian.