dhbat ضبط
Tunisian Derja · verb
“dhbat” (ضبط) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to adjust, to set, to fine-tune.
Meanings
- to adjust, to set, to fine-tune
- to master, to control (oneself)
- bidhabt: exactly, precisely
Usage
Dhbat means to adjust or set with precision: a watch, a device, a schedule, a budget. Figuratively, "dhbat rouhou" means to control oneself, stay calm. It can also mean to keep something under control, for example a border or a situation. The most common expression in speech remains "bidhabt" (or "bedhabt"), "exactly", often used to agree. Example: "bidhabt, hedheka elli sar" (exactly, that's what happened). In arabizi, the emphatic consonant is written "dh", "th" or "4", hence many different spellings.
Example
ضبط المنقالة على الساعة متاع تونس
dhbat el mongela 3la es-se3a mta3 Tounes
“He set his watch to Tunis time.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “dhbat” but also “dhabt” and “dhbet”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “dhbat” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to set, to adjust precisely”; “to master, to control”: dbet in Moroccan.