sayeb سيب
Tunisian Derja · verb
“sayeb” (سيب) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to let go, release.
Meanings
- to let go, release
- to leave alone
- to let, allow to go
Usage
Sayyeb is a very common verb for "letting go" of something you are holding, "releasing" an animal or a person, or "letting" someone do something. In the imperative, sayyebni means "let go of me" or "leave me alone". Sayyeb 3lina means "leave us alone". Followed by a verb, it expresses permission: sayyebni nemchi, "let me go". The opposite is chedd, "to hold". Depending on tone, sayyebni can be curt, even rude. Pitfall for an English speaker: sayyeb does not mean "to leave" in the sense of departing from a place, which is khalla or ferek.
Example
سيّب يدي، توجعني
sayyeb yeddi, twaja3ni
“Let go of my hand, you're hurting me.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sayeb” but also “sayyeb” and “sayab”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “sayeb” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to let go, release”; “to leave, drop”: seeb in Algerian.