3a عا
Tunisian Derja · preposition
“3a” (عا) is a preposition in Tunisian Derja meaning on, about.
Meanings
- on, about
- at, towards
Usage
3a is the reduced form of 3la, "on", used before the article or before elli. This gives 3al-, as in 3al tawla, "on the table", or 3alli, "on the one who" or "about what". In online writing it is often joined to the following word. Before a noun without an article or before a pronoun, the full form is used: 3la dar, 3lih. Like 3la, it expresses location, the topic being discussed (na7ki 3al…) or the target of a feeling. Written alone (3a), the form belongs more to other dialects.
Example
نحكي عاللي قاعد يصير فال كواليس ,
na7ki 3alli 9999a3d ysir fil kewelis ,
“I'm talking about what's happening behind the scenes.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, it is written “3a”. 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.