t3ejjeb تعجب
Moroccan Darija · verb
“t3ejjeb” (تعجب) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to be surprised, wonder.
Meanings
- to be surprised, wonder
- to please (you please, she pleases)
Usage
This spelling covers two verbs that only pronunciation tells apart. With t3ejjeb, the consonant is doubled and the meaning is "to be surprised"; it takes men: t3ejjebt men klamo, his speech surprised me. Without doubling, t3jeb is a conjugated form of 3jeb, "to please", in the second person or feminine: bghit t3jeb lih, you want to please him. The pitfall for an English speaker lies in the construction of 3jeb. The person who likes something is the object: 3jebni, "I liked it" (literally "it pleased me"). The thing or person liked is the subject.
Example
عمرك تعجب إيلا سمعتي بحال هاد الحضرة منو
3emrek t 3jeb ila sme3ti b7al had lhadra menou
“Never be surprised if you hear this kind of talk from him.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kantt3jeb | tt3jebt | |
| nta (you, m.) | kattt3jeb | tt3jebti | tt3jeb |
| nti (you, f.) | kattt3jbi | tt3jebti | tt3jbi |
| howa (he) | kaytt3jeb | tt3jeb | |
| hiya (she) | kattt3jeb | tt3jbat | |
| 7na (we) | kantt3jbo | tt3jbna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | kattt3jbo | tt3jbto | tt3jbo |
| homa (they) | kaytt3jbo | tt3jbo |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “t3ejjeb” but also “t3jeb”, “te3jeb”, “t3ajjeb”, “t3ejeb” and “tt3jeb”. 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.