w9a3 وقع
Tunisian Derja · verb
“w9a3” (وقع) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to happen, occur.
Meanings
- to happen, occur
- to fall (into a trap, a problem)
Usage
W9a3 mainly means "to happen", "to occur", for an event. The typical question is "chnowa elli w9a3?" (what happened?). In the present tense, one says "yo9a3": "hedhi tsir/to9a3 barcha" (that happens often). With "fi", it means to land in an unpleasant situation: "w9a3 fi mochkla" (he ended up in a problem). Pitfall for an English speaker: for a physical fall, "ta7" is used instead; w9a3 in this sense sounds more formal.
Example
شنوة اللي وقع البارح؟
chnowa elli w9a3 lbare7?
“What happened yesterday?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “w9a3” but also “wqa3”, “wa9a3”, “we9a3” and “w9e3”. 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.
Type “w9a3” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to happen, occur”; “to fall”: w9e3 in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to happen, occur”; “to fall (into error, a trap)”: wqe3 in Algerian.