ma3da معدة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“ma3da” (معدة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning stomach.
Meanings
- stomach
Usage
Ma3da means the stomach as an organ. It is the word used at the doctor's or the pharmacy, for example in dwa ma3da, "medicine for the stomach", or in 3andi el ma3da, "I have stomach problems". For the belly in general, kerch is used instead, and kerchi tou9ja3ni means "my belly hurts". The pitfall is that ma3da remains fairly precise and medical: it is not used to talk about appetite or about the visible belly.
Example
عندي وجيعة في المعدة من الصباح.
3andi wji3a fel ma3da mel sbe7.
“I've had a stomach ache since this morning.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ma3da” but also “maada”, “m3da”, “ma3de” and “maaida”. 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 “ma3da” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “stomach”: m3da in Moroccan.