9a3da قاعدا
Tunisian Derja · particle
“9a3da” (قاعدا) is a particle in Tunisian Derja meaning in the process of (progressive marker, feminine).
Meanings
- in the process of (progressive marker, feminine)
- sitting, staying (feminine)
Usage
Qa3da is the feminine form of qa3ed, and this spelling with a final alif often replaces the ta marbouta. Placed before an imperfective verb, it marks an ongoing action: qa3da tekteb, "she is writing." It agrees with the subject: qa3ed in the masculine, qa3da in the feminine, qa3din in the plural. With a feminine subject or noun, one says qa3da tsir, "it is happening." Used alone, the word keeps its original meaning: "sitting" or "staying somewhere." For an English speaker, the common mistake is to translate it word for word as "sitting" when it simply marks the progressive.
Example
أمي قاعدا تطيب في الكوجينة
ommi qa3da ttayeb fil koujina
“My mother is cooking in the kitchen.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9a3da” but also “qa3da”, “ga3da”, “ka3da” and “9aada”. 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.