Lesson 83 · B2
3afak, 7ta, w9t
Most written Darija lives on phones, and most of it is in Latin letters with numbers mixed in: 3afak, s7ab, w9t. That's arabizi. You've been reading 3 and 7 all course; here come 9, the French ch, and the abbreviations.
- Read arabizi: 3, 7, 9, kh, gh, ch.
- Convert it to Arabic script and back.
- Understand chat abbreviations.
- Write a message to a group.
Twenty-four words
The first family is abbreviations: full form in Arabic, short form in the transcription. The rest is social-media vocabulary, mostly from French or English.
Abbreviations
- السّْلَامْ slm hi (short)
- بْزَّافْ bzf a lot
- وَاللَّهْ wlh I swear
-
إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهْ
nchlh
God willing
Also nchallah.
- مْزْيَانْ mzn good; OK
- الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهْ hmd fine, thank God
- عَافَاكْ 3fk please
Social media
- الْمِيسَاجْ l-misaj message
- الْوَاتْسَابْ l-watsab WhatsApp
-
الْكْرُوبْ
l-grup
group
From French groupe.
- الْفُوكَالْ l-vocal voice note
- الْإِسْتُورِي l-story story (Instagram)
- الْكُومُونْطِيرْ l-komontir comment
What you do
- بَارْطَاجَا partaja to share
- جَاوْبْ jaweb to reply
-
شَافْ وْ مَا جَاوْبْشْ
shaf u ma-jawebsh
to leave on read
“Saw it and didn't answer”.
- بْلُوكَا bloka to block
- طَاڭَا taga to tag
Letters and digits
- الْحُرُوفْ l-7uruf letters
- الْأَرْقَامْ l-arqam digits
- بْالْعَرْبِيَّة b l-3arbiyya in Arabic script
-
بْالْفْرَانْسَاوِي
b l-fransawi
in Latin script
Literally “in French”.
Laughing in writing
- الْإِيمُوجِي l-emoji emoji
-
هْهْهْ
hhh
haha
The Moroccan h.
Reading arabizi
Four messages: arabizi in the transcription, Arabic script above. Match each digit to its letter.
- السّْلَامْ، كِيفْ دَايْرِينْ؟slm, kif dayrin?
- شْكُونْ غَادِي يْجِي الْجُّمْعَة؟chkoun ghadi yji ljem3a?
- أَنَا مْعَاكُمْ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهْana m3akom nchlh
- وَاللَّهْ مَا عْنْدِي وَقْتْ، بْزَّافْ دْ الْخْدْمَةwlh ma3ndi w9t, bzf dlkhdma
Which letter is the 9 in w9t? And the ch in chkoun?
The rule
Digits stand in for letters Latin script lacks, chosen by shape:
3 = ع, 7 = ح, 9 = ق; less often, 2 = ء.
Others use two letters, French-style: kh = خ, gh = غ, ch = ش, ou = و.
There's no standard: chkoun, shkun and chkon are the same. Short vowels get dropped: w9t, bzf.
Common abbreviations: slm, bzf, wlh, nchlh, mzn, hmd, 3fk.
Digits and letters
| Form | Say it | Means |
|---|---|---|
| عْ | 3 | ʿayn: 3 |
| حْ | 7 | ḥa: 7 |
| قْ | 9 | qaf: 9 |
| خْ | kh | kha: kh |
| غْ | gh | ghayn: gh |
| شْ | ch | shin: ch, French-style |
| عْلَاشْ؟ | 3lach? | why? |
| صْحَابْ | s7ab | friends |
This course has used 3 and 7 all along: same convention.
What English gives you, and what it costs
Free: “thx”, “pls”, “msg”: you drop vowels too. bzf, mzn work the same way.
Costly: ch is French “ch”, English “sh”: chkoun is “shkun”, not “church”.
Costly: j is French too, like the “s” in “measure”: jib.
Your mistake, not someone else's
You read the 9 as a number. Inside a word it's nearly always ق.
×وْ تِسْعَة تْReading w9t as “w-nine-t”.
✓وَقْتْ“Time”.
Same with m3a (with), 7ta (until), 9bel (before).
A group chat
A chat written for this lesson, no real data. The transcription shows the message as typed, in arabizi; above, the same in Arabic script.
سَارَة: السّْلَامْ الْكْرُوبْ، كِيفْ دَايْرِينْ؟
يُوسْفْ: الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهْ. شْكُونْ غَادِي يْجِي الْبْحَرْ نْهَارْ السّْبْتْ؟
سَارَة: أَنَا مْعَاكُمْ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهْ. شْحَالْ دْ السَّاعَة؟
يُوسْفْ: مْعَ الْعَشْرَة فْالْمَحَطَّة. جِيبُو الْمَا، الْجّْوّْ سْخُونْ بْزَّافْ.
كْرِيمْ: وَاللَّهْ مَا عْنْدِي وَقْتْ، بْزَّافْ دْ الْخْدْمَة هَادْ السِّيمَانَة هْهْهْ
سَارَة: زْعْمَا الْخْدْمَة هْهْهْ. عَافَاكْ أَجِي، غِيرْ جُوجْ سْوَايْعْ.
كْرِيمْ: وَاخَّا، مْزْيَانْ. صِيفْطُو لِيَّا اللُّوكَاسْيُونْ.
Did you follow?
What's the plan?
Show answers
Going to the beach on Saturday.
When and where do they meet?
Show answers
At ten, at the station.
What's Karim's excuse?
Show answers
Too much work this week.
Does Sara believe him?
Show answers
No: she answers with z3ma and laughs.
Check
Two here, three more in the B2 book.
Exercises 1 and 2 are here, with answers. Exercises 3 to 5 are in the B2 book, the PDF this site lives on: you can see the first item of each below.
1Match
Arabic letter to arabizi.
| 1 | عْ | a | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | حْ | b | 3 |
| 3 | قْ | c | ch |
| 4 | شْ | d | 7 |
| 5 | خْ | e | kh |
2Into Arabic script
Write each word in the Arabic alphabet.
- 3afak
- s7ab
- w9t
- chkoun
3True or false?
According to the chat.
- They're meeting on Saturday to go to the beach.
4Into arabizi
Write each word as in a chat.
- بْزَّافْ
5Your message
Write a six-message chat arranging to meet friends. Arabizi allowed.
slmnchlhbzf3fkwlh
The rest is in the B2 book
The B2 bookShow answers
| 1. Match | 1-b, 2-d, 3-a, 4-c, 5-e |
|---|---|
| 2. Into Arabic script | عَافَاكْ · صْحَابْ · وَقْتْ · شْكُونْ |
The B2 book: In preparation
Write and I will tell you the day it is out. One email, no list.
I can now
- Read 3, 7, 9, kh, gh, ch.
- Convert arabizi to Arabic script.
- Understand slm, bzf, nchlh.
- Write in a group chat.