baba بابا
Tunisian Derja · noun
“baba” (بابا) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning dad, father.
Meanings
- dad, father
Usage
Baba is the affectionate, common word for one's father, both for referring to him and for calling him. You say "baba" to talk about your own father or to address him. With suffixed pronouns, you get babak (your father) and babah (his father). Another word, bouya, is also very common for "my father", and the neutral form is "bou". Children use it from a very early age, but adults do too, without any childish nuance.
Example
بابا خرج للخدمة
baba khraj lel khedma
“Dad has gone to work.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “baba” but also “bba” and “babaa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “baba” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “dad, father”: baba in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “dad, father”; “respectful title for an elder”: baba in Algerian.