t9riban تقريبا
Moroccan Darija · adverb
“t9riban” (تقريبا) is an adverb in Moroccan Darija meaning approximately, about.
Meanings
- approximately, about
- almost
Usage
T9riban is very commonly used to give an approximation, whether of a duration, a price or a quantity: t9riban chi 3am ("about a year"), t9riban 200 dh ("about 200 dirhams"). It generally goes before the term it qualifies, but it can also come at the end of the sentence. It combines readily with jwayh or chi to stress the approximation. This word comes from Standard Arabic but has become fully integrated into darija. The final n is often dropped in speech and in writing.
Example
تقريبا شي عام
t9riban chi 3am
“About a year.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “t9riban” but also “ta9riban”, “taqriban”, “te9riban”, “t9riba” and “t9ryba”. 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 “t9riban” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “almost, roughly”; “approximately (with a number)”: ta9riban in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “almost, approximately”; “roughly”: ta9riban in Tunisian.