b9a بقى
Tunisian Derja · verb
“b9a” (بقى) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to stay, to remain.
Meanings
- to stay, to remain
- to become, to end up
- to keep on (doing)
Usage
B9a first means "to stay" somewhere or in a state: b9it fi dar (I stayed at home). It is also used to express a lasting change of state, in the sense of "to become": b9a kbir (he grew up, he became big). Followed by a verb in the present, it indicates continuity: b9a yestanna (he kept waiting). In the present, it is yeb9a, and nab9a in the first person. The q of Standard Arabic is written 9, and the initial a is often barely pronounced.
Example
راني جيت باش نوصّل موش باش نبقى برشا نفصّل ,
rani jit bech nwassil mouch bech nab9a barcha nfassil ,
“I came to pass things on, not to stay and go into lots of detail.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “b9a” but also “eb9a”, “ba9a”, “b9it”, “yeb9a” and “bqa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find بقى and بقا, all the same word.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.
Type “b9a” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
The same word also exists in Moroccan Darija, written بقا, where it means “to stay, remain”; “to keep on doing”: b9a in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to stay, remain”; “to keep on doing”: b9a in Algerian.