fou9 فوق
Tunisian Derja · preposition
“fou9” (فوق) is a preposition in Tunisian Derja meaning on, above.
Meanings
- on, above
- up, upstairs (el fou9)
- on top, over it
Usage
Fou9 is the usual preposition for “on” or “above”: fou9 ettawla (on the table). With the article, el fou9 means the top, the upper floor or the sky: tla3 el fou9 (he went up). Used alone after a verb, it means “on it”: 7ott fou9 (put it on top). It takes suffixed pronouns: fou9ou (above him), fou9ek. Its opposite is ta7t (under). Pitfall for an English speaker: fou9 is not used to talk about a subject (“a book on history”); use 3la instead.
Example
حطّ الكتاب فوق الطاولة
7ott lekteb fou9 ettawla
“Put the book on the table.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “fou9” but also “fo9”, “fouk”, “foug”, “fok” and “faw9a”. 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 “fou9” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “on, above”; “up, upstairs”: fo9 in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “on, above”; “up, upstairs”: fouq in Algerian.