bedhabt بالضبط
Tunisian Derja · adverb
“bedhabt” (بالضبط) is an adverb in Tunisian Derja meaning exactly, precisely.
Meanings
- exactly, precisely
- sharp, on the dot (time, amount)
- that's right, absolutely
Usage
Bedhabt is used to specify a quantity, a time or a place: "fi thmanya bedhabt", "at eight o'clock sharp", or "9odem el bab bedhabt", "right in front of the door". Used alone as a reply, it expresses full agreement, like "exactly!". The word is neutral in register and is used in both speech and writing. Its more colloquial equivalent is "bel 7ay", which is less common for time.
Example
الحفلة تبدا في الثمنية بالضبط.
el 7afla tebda fi thmanya bedhabt.
“The party starts at eight o'clock sharp.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “bedhabt” but also “bidhabt”, “bdhabt”, “beddhabt” and “bezabt”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find بالضبط and بضبط and بظبط, all the same word.
Type “bedhabt” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
The same word also exists in Moroccan Darija, written بضّبط, where it means “exactly, precisely”; “exactly! (agreement)”: bdabt in Moroccan.