ser9a سرقة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“ser9a” (سرقة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning theft, petty larceny.
Meanings
- theft, petty larceny
- burglary, armed robbery
Usage
Ser9a refers to the act of stealing, from simple petty theft to burglary: kanet ser9a f l-7ouma, "there was a theft in the neighborhood". The noun is feminine and its plural is ser9at. It is heard in news reports, at the police station and in conversation. The word is also used figuratively for a price considered excessive: hadi ser9a, "that's robbery". It belongs to the same family as sre9 ("to steal").
Example
هادي سرقة، هاد الثمن غالي بزاف
hadi ser9a, had taman ghali bzaf
“That's robbery, this price is far too expensive.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ser9a” but also “sr9a”, “sarqa”, “srqa” and “sri9a”. 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 “ser9a” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “theft, larceny”; “rip-off, overpriced item (figurative)”: sar9a in Tunisian.