m3a مع
Tunisian Derja · preposition
“m3a” (مع) is a preposition in Tunisian Derja meaning with, in company of.
Meanings
- with, in company of
- around (a time)
- at, on the side of
Usage
A basic preposition, pronounced m3a. It takes suffix pronouns: m3aya (with me), m3ak (with you), m3ah (with him), m3aha (with her), m3ana, m3akom, m3ahom. It is used for accompaniment (nimchi m3akom) and for relationship (7kéyti m3ak). It also gives an approximate time: m3a l-khamsa (around five o'clock). With a verb of feeling, it marks the person one is in a relationship with: ma yetfehmouch m3a ba3dhom (they don't get along with each other). For instruments, b- is used instead: nekteb bel-stylo (I write with a pen).
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “m3a” but also “ma3a”, “m3”, “me3a”, “ma3” and “mo3a”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find مع and معا, all the same word.
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 “m3a” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
The same word also exists in Moroccan Darija, written معا, where it means “with, in the company of”; “around, at (a time)”: m3a in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “with, in company of”; “around, about (time)”: m3a in Algerian.