3gab عقاب
Tunisian Derja · noun
“3gab” (عقاب) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning end, last part.
Meanings
- end, last part
- the last one (in final position)
- punishment (formal register)
Usage
3gab, pronounced with a hard g, means the end or the last part of something. It is used mainly in the phrases "fi 3gab" (at the end of) and "3gab ellil" or "3gab ennhar" (late at night, at the end of the day). "El 3gab" can also mean the last one in a line or a series. "Fil 3gab" means "finally, in the end". Do not confuse this word with 3i9ab, pronounced with a q, which means "punishment". This second meaning comes from Modern Standard Arabic and is heard mostly in a formal or journalistic register.
Example
هزّنا الطيار و رمانا في عقاب رحلة
Hazna ettayar w rmena fi 3gab re7la
“The pilot picked us up and dropped us off at the end of a trip.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3gab” but also “3geb”, “3kab” and “3i9ab”. 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; 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.