tnafes تنافس
Moroccan Darija · verb
“tnafes” (تنافس) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to compete, to rival.
Meanings
- to compete, to rival
- to vie for something
Usage
Tnafes is said of two people, teams or companies that compete with each other. It is used with m3a (with, against) for the opponent: "tnafes m3ah." It is used with 3la for what is at stake: "tnafsou 3la l-kas" (they competed for the cup). The verb is frequent in sport, studies, business and competitions. Its register is neutral, a little more formal than colloquial expressions such as "tsabqou" (they raced each other). The imperfect is ytnafes, and the noun tanafos means competition or rivalry. It has no marked hostile sense: it means rivalry, not quarrelling.
Example
جوج فرق كيتنافسو على البطولة
jouj fra9 kaytnafsou 3la l-boutoula
“Two teams are competing for the championship.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kantnafs | tnafst | |
| nta (you, m.) | kattnafs | tnafsti | tnafs |
| nti (you, f.) | kattnafsi | tnafsti | tnafsi |
| howa (he) | kaytnafs | tnafs | |
| hiya (she) | kattnafs | tnafsat | |
| 7na (we) | kantnafso | tnafsna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | kattnafso | tnafsto | tnafso |
| homa (they) | kaytnafso | tnafso |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “tnafes” but also “tnafs”, “tnaafs” and “tnafess”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.