d9i9a دقيقة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“d9i9a” (دقيقة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning minute.
Meanings
- minute
- a moment
Usage
D9i9a is the usual word for minute, with the plural d9aye9. It appears in durations ("khamsa d9aye9", five minutes) and in recipes or instructions. Used alone, "d9i9a!" means "one minute!" or "wait a moment", to ask someone to wait. In everyday speech, the value is often approximate: "d9i9a w nji" (I'll be there in a minute) does not promise a precise time. The arabizi spelling writes the qaf with the digit 9.
Example
وقتها ارمي كعبات البريك خلّيهم دقيقة في زيت الدافي
wa9tha armi k3ibet elbrik khalihom d9i9a fi zit eldeifi
“Then throw in the pieces of brik and leave them a minute in the hot oil.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “d9i9a” but also “dqiqa”, “dkika” and “d9ii9a”. 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.
Type “d9i9a” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “minute”; “a moment, a second”: d9i9a in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “minute (unit of time)”; “a moment, a little while”: dqiqa in Algerian.