tab3 تابع
Moroccan Darija · adjective
“tab3” (تابع) is an adjective in Moroccan Darija meaning next, following.
Meanings
- next, following
- following, pursuing someone
- dependent on, attached to
Usage
Tab3 is the active participle of tba3, "to follow". As an adjective, it refers to what comes next: chno lli tab3?, "what comes next?". As a participle, it describes an ongoing or habitual action and often amounts to "to be following". It is used for following orders, a series, a course or a person. With a person's name, it can mean "to chase after, to harass". Built with l-, it marks attachment: tab3 l-lbaladiya, "under the municipality". The feminine is tab3a; the plural is tab3in.
Example
شنو لي تابع أ الشاف?
chno lli tab3 a chef?
“What comes next, chief?”
Forms
| feminine | taab3a |
|---|---|
| plural | taab3in |
| feminine plural | taab3at |
Forms as recorded in DODa, in its spelling.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “tab3” but also “taba3”, “tabe3”, “taab3”, “tabi3” and “tabaa”. 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.
Type “tab3” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “attached to, dependent on”; “included (in a price)”: teba3 in Tunisian.