t7edda تحدّا
Moroccan Darija · verb
“t7edda” (تحدّا) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to challenge, to dare.
Meanings
- to challenge, to dare
- to defy, to stand up to
Usage
T7edda means "to challenge someone" or "to stand up to someone." It takes the person directly as its object (t7eddah, "he challenged him"), often followed by bach + verb to specify the challenge. The word is common among young people, in sport and on social media, where people say ana kant7eddak ("I dare you"). The corresponding noun is ta7addi ("challenge"). It should not be confused with t7edda in the sense of "to be careful, to be wary", which is related to 7der and is sometimes spelled the same way in arabizi.
Example
تحدّاني باش نقرا الكتاب فنهار
t7eddani bach n9ra lktab f nhar
“He challenged me to read the book in one day.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kant7edda | t7eddat | |
| nta (you, m.) | katt7edda | t7eddati | t7edda |
| nti (you, f.) | katt7edday | t7eddati | t7edday |
| howa (he) | kayt7edda | t7edda | |
| hiya (she) | katt7edda | t7edaat | |
| 7na (we) | kant7eddaw | t7edana | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katt7eddaw | t7edato | t7eddaw |
| homa (they) | kayt7eddaw | t7edao |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “t7edda” but also “t7adda”, “t7da”, “t7eda” and “te7dda”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.