tra99a3 ترقع
Tunisian Derja · verb
“tra99a3” (ترقع) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to get by, patch things up somehow.
Meanings
- to get by, patch things up somehow
- to patch, to mend
Usage
Tra99a3 literally means putting a patch on a torn garment. In practice it is mostly used figuratively, for someone who rigs up a makeshift solution, plugging gaps for lack of anything better: paying a debt with another loan, patching up a situation in a hurry. The word often carries a slightly derogatory or resigned nuance. It appears in expressions like bech tnajjem tra99a3 (so you can get by). An English speaker should understand this is not a real repair, but a stopgap.
Example
الشهرية ما تكفيش، ديما نرقع
echahria ma tekfich, dima nra99a3
“The salary isn't enough, I'm always patching things up to get by.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, it is written “tra99a3”. 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; 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.