tes3in تسعين

Moroccan Darija · numeral

“tes3in” (تسعين) is a numeral in Moroccan Darija meaning ninety.

Meanings

1. ninety
2. last minute (of a match)

Usage

Tes3in is the number "ninety" in darija. Like the other tens, it takes the counted noun in the singular: tes3in derhem, "ninety dirhams", tes3in 3am, "ninety years". For compound numbers, the unit comes first, joined by u: tlata u tes3in, "ninety-three". In football talk, f-dqiqa tes3in, "in the ninetieth minute", commonly refers to the very end of the match and, by extension, to a last-minute event.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “tes3in” but also “ts3in”, “tess3in” and “tas3in”. 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 “tes3in” on the Arabic keyboard

In Tunisian Derja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “ninety”: tes3in in Tunisian.

How to say “ninety” in Moroccan and Tunisian