ta3oun طاعون
Moroccan Darija · noun
“ta3oun” (طاعون) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning plague (disease).
Meanings
- plague (disease)
- deadly epidemic, scourge
Usage
Ta3oun means the plague, and more broadly a serious epidemic. It is mostly heard with the article: t-ta3oun. The word appears in accounts of epidemics of the past, in discussions about health, and in certain familiar curses, in which one wishes harm on someone. In these formulas the register is colloquial and can sound aggressive; a learner is better off not using them. For a simple contagious illness, one says mrD or l-wba instead. The plural is rare.
Example
قبل كان الطاعون كيقتل بزاف ديال الناس.
9bel kan t-ta3oun kay9tel bzaf dyal nnas.
“In the past, the plague killed a lot of people.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ta3oun” but also “ta3on”, “taa3oun” and “ta3oune”. 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.