l3ab لعب
Tunisian Derja · verb
“l3ab” (لعب) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to play.
Meanings
- to play
- to toy with, manipulate
- play, game
Usage
L3ab (present: yel3eb) means to play, whether a child, a sport or a game: "yel3bou el koura" (they play football). With the preposition b-, "l3ab bih" means to toy with someone, manipulate or deceive them. With "b7yetou", it means to risk one's life. As a noun, la3b means play or amusement. The expression "mouch la3b" means "it's not a game, it's serious". For a musical instrument, the verb dharb is used instead.
Example
الصغار يلعبوا الكورة في الحومة
esghar yel3bou el koura fel 7ouma
“The kids are playing football in the neighbourhood.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “l3ab” but also “la3eb”, “yel3eb”, “la3b” and “l3eb”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.
Type “l3ab” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to play”; “to play a match, a role”: l3eb in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to play (game, sport)”; “to play a role”: l3ab in Algerian.