ba9ia بقية
Tunisian Derja · noun
“ba9ia” (بقية) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning the rest, what remains.
Meanings
- the rest, what remains
- the others (people)
Usage
Ba9ia is used mostly in the construct state, ba9iyet followed by a noun: ba9iyet el 7keya (the rest of the story), ba9iyet ennes (the other people). Speaking of money, el ba9i is more often used for change given back: 3tini el ba9i (give me my change). The register is neutral and the word is common in speech and writing. Note that 9 stands for an emphatic q; in some regions it is pronounced like a g.
Example
وين بقية الفلوس؟
win ba9iyet el flous ?
“Where is the rest of the money?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ba9ia” but also “ba9iya”, “ba9iyet”, “baqiya” and “ba9ya”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.