mba3d امبعد
Tunisian Derja · adverb
“mba3d” (امبعد) is an adverb in Tunisian Derja meaning then, next.
Meanings
- then, next
- later
Usage
Emba3d (often mba3d) is the common adverb for linking steps in a story or instructions: "first… emba3d…". It can also mean "later", as opposed to tawa (now): "nchoufou emba3d" (we'll see later). Do not confuse it with the preposition ba3d (after), which takes a complement: "ba3d el ftour" (after the meal). "Emba3d ma" introduces a clause: "emba3d ma klit" (after eating). It is very frequent in the informal register, both in speech and in written messages.
Example
نكملو الخدمة و امبعد نمشيو نتعشاو.
nkamlou el khedma w emba3d nemchiw net3achew.
“We finish the work and then we go have dinner.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mba3d” but also “emba3d”, “mba3ed”, “embaad” and “mbaad”. 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.