adverb time beginner

daba

Moroccan Darija for “now”

/da-ba/

دابا

Translations

🇬🇧
English now
🇫🇷
French maintenant
🇲🇦
Arabic Script دابا

Word Information

Part of Speech
adverb
Gender
neutral
Category
time
Difficulty
beginner

Example: daba in a Darija sentence

Darija

Khasni nmshi daba.

English

I need to go now.

How to say “now” in Moroccan Darija

Say daba (دابا) for “now” in Moroccan Darija. The pronunciation guide is /da-ba/. It is a adverb. In a natural conversation, you can say “Khasni nmshi daba.”, meaning “I need to go now.” The French equivalent is maintenant.

More example sentences with “daba”

Daba ghadi nbda lkhidma.

دابا غادي نبدا الخدمة.

I'm going to start work now. · Je vais commencer le travail maintenant.

Daba kayn chi moshkil?

دابا كاين شي مشكل؟

Is there a problem now? · Y a-t-il un problème maintenant?

Daba ma3ndish wa9t.

دابا ماعنديش وقت.

I don't have time now. · Je n'ai pas de temps maintenant.

How Moroccans use “daba”

The word 'daba' is commonly used in everyday Moroccan Darija to indicate the present moment. It is informal and frequently appears in casual conversations. A common expression is 'daba daba' to emphasize urgency, meaning 'right now'. There are no significant regional variations for this word.

Similar words and expressions

  • daba daba — right now
  • f had sa3a — at this moment

“daba” in other languages

Englishnow
Frenchmaintenant
Spanishahora
Italianadesso
Germanjetzt
Portugueseagora
Dutchnu
Turkishşimdi

Frequently Asked Questions

What does daba mean in English?

daba (دابا) is a Moroccan Darija word or expression meaning "now" in English and "maintenant" in French. It is a beginner-level word in the time category.

How do you use daba in a Darija sentence?

A natural example is “Khasni nmshi daba.” It means “I need to go now.”

How do you pronounce daba?

Daba is pronounced /da-ba/. You can listen to the audio pronunciation by clicking the "Listen" button above.

How do you write daba in Arabic script?

In Arabic script it is written دابا.

When do Moroccans use daba?

The word 'daba' is commonly used in everyday Moroccan Darija to indicate the present moment. It is informal and frequently appears in casual conversations. A common expression is 'daba daba' to emphasize urgency, meaning 'right now'. There are no significant regional variations for this word.

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