ttas3 التاسع
Moroccan Darija · numeral
“ttas3” (التاسع) is a numeral in Moroccan Darija meaning ninth.
Meanings
- ninth
Usage
Ttas3 is the ordinal corresponding to tes3ud (nine). Like other darija ordinals, it almost always takes the article: one says ssou2al ttas3 (the ninth question), the noun also being definite. The feminine is ttas3a: lmerra ttas3a (the ninth time). In everyday speech, ordinals above ten are rare. The cardinal is then placed after the noun instead: tabe9 tna3ch (the twelfth floor). For low numbers, ttas3 remains natural in speech and writing, notably for school years, floors and exam questions.
Example
واش عارف الجواب ديال السؤال التاسع؟
wach 3arf ljawab dyal sou2al tas3?
“Do you know the answer to the ninth question?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ttas3” but also “tas3”, “ttase3” and “ettas3”. 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.