3aks عكس
Tunisian Derja · noun
“3aks” (عكس) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning opposite, reverse.
Meanings
- opposite, reverse
- backwards, the wrong way
Usage
3aks means "the opposite" or "the reverse": 3aks hādhā (the opposite of this). The expression bel3aks (on the contrary) is very common for politely contradicting: bel3aks, ya3jebni (on the contrary, I like it). Used alone after a verb of motion, it indicates the wrong direction: jāy 3aks (he's coming the wrong way, or he does everything backwards). It can describe a person who deliberately goes against others. The sense "to reflect" belongs mostly to Standard Arabic and formal registers.
Example
لا، بالعكس، الفكرة عجبتني.
la, bel3aks, el fekra 3ejbetni.
“No, on the contrary, I liked the idea.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3aks” but also “aks” and “3ks”. 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 “3aks” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “the opposite, the reverse”; “to reflect, reverse (verb 3kes)”: 3eks in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “opposite, reverse”; “unlike, contrary to”: 3aks in Algerian.