mrabba3 مربع
Tunisian Derja · noun
“mrabba3” (مربع) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning square (shape, square piece).
Meanings
- square (shape, square piece)
- square (unit: square metre, kilometre)
- box, grid square
Usage
The word mrabba3 (or mourabba3) refers to the square shape or to a piece cut into a square. It often comes up in cooking and pastry: 9os3a mrabb3at, "cut it into squares". The plural is mrabb3at. In measurements, it follows the unit as in French: metro mrabba3, kilometr mrabba3. It can also be used as an adjective ("square"), with a feminine form mrabb3a. The spelling mourabba3 reflects a pronunciation closer to the standard, which is also commonly heard.
Example
و قصّهم مربّعات انتي وال كبر اللي تحبّ عليه
w 9oushom mourab3at inti wel kober ili t7eb 3lih
“And cut them into squares, whatever size you like.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mrabba3” but also “mourabba3”, “mrab3”, “mourab3a”, “mrabb3at” and “mourabi3”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find مربع and موربع, 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 “mrabba3” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “square (geometric shape)”; “square, square-shaped”: morabba3 in Moroccan.