# Algerian Arabic: ra راني، راك، راه (to be)



## Xence

Since this question has occurred many times, here's what I once  wrote to our friend Ghabi:

As for the structure "_ra +_ pronoun", the origin is a pure fuS7a, from the verb رأى - يرى . It means that _raani_, for exemple, is simply أراني or تراني , but it has progressively been altered so that now "_ra_" is exactly the equivalent of the English verb "_to be_", which doesn't really exist in Arabic, as you know.


> * How do we use "_ra_ + pronoun"?


*SINGULAR *

 1st person (masc. & fem.): _raani = _I am
2nd person
masc.: _raak = _You are
fem.: _raaki_
3rd person
masc. _raah = _He is
fem.: _raaha_ or _raahi = _She is 

*PLURAL*

 1st person (masc. & fem.): _raana = _We are
2nd person: _raakum = _You are
3rd person: _raahum = _They are


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## Bruss04

hi xence,
I heard somewhere (and I may have misunderstood since I am not a native speaker) that "Raani" etc could perhaps be used to add emphasis as in "I really am.." or "I truly am.." something... is there anything to that?


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## WadiH

Xence,
From your examples, this word seems to be more or less equivalent to the word ترى in the Arabian Peninsula.  I think rather than simply being a "verb to be," I would say that it is often functions as the equivalent of the إنّ/فإنّ of Classical Arabic:

تراك مسرع = إنّك مسرع
ترى في العجلة الندامة = إنّ في العجلة الندامة
زوّجوه تراه ولد حلال = زوّجوه فإنّه ولد حلال
عليكم بالحبة السودا تراه دواء لكل داء = عليكم بالحبة السوداء فإنه دواء لكل داء


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## elroy

Wadi Hanifa said:


> From your examples,


 What examples?

I have a couple questions for Xence:

Is this verb required or optional?  If you wanted to say "I am happy" or "He is my friend," would you have to use it?

And does it a past or future tense?

[By the way, the verb "to be" definitely exists in Arabic; it's just not used as a present-tense copula, as in many other languages.]


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## Xence

Hi all,


Bruss04 said:


> I heard somewhere (and I may have misunderstood since I am not a native speaker) that "Raani" etc could perhaps be used to add emphasis as in "I really am.." or "I truly am.." something... is there anything to that?



Not in Algerian. _Raani _means exactly "I am". If I would like to emphasize, I would add something like _Sa77_

I really am sick = _raani Sa77 mriiDH_



			
				Wadi Hanifa said:
			
		

> I think rather than simply being a "verb to be," I would say that it is often functions as the equivalent of the إنّ/فإنّ of Classical Arabic:


Yes, I am aware of this usage in Arabian Peninsula. I once discussed with Ayed about تراني which seems closer to the algerian usage, but here this word has actually swerved to another meaning, which is exactly the verb "_to be_". This is obvious in the Algerian greeting _wesh raak_ (how are you).



			
				elroy said:
			
		

> Is this verb required or optional? If you wanted to say "I am happy" or "He is my friend," would you have to use it?


It's required most of the time.

I am happy = _raani far7aan_
He is my friend = _raah Saa7bi_ (though in this case, you would rather say _haadha Saa7bi_ or _haadha raah Saa7bi_, depending on certain nuances)



			
				elroy said:
			
		

> And does it a past or future tense?


Basically, it's more used in present tense and it's more an auxiliary verb than a verb per se. For future tense, there is another auxiliary verb (_raaye7 _or _ghaadi_, depending on regions). As for past tenses, we use the auxiliary verb _kaan_ in the same way as in FuS7a.


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## elroy

How interesting!   I had no idea.


Xence said:


> Basically, it's more used in present tense and it's more an auxiliary verb than a verb per se.


 Could you expand on that?  If it's an auxiliary, what form of a verb can it be combined with, and how does it affect the meaning? 





> For future tense, there is another auxiliary verb (_raaye7 _or _ghaadi_, depending on regions).


 So "I will be happy" would be "raaye7 far7aan"?


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## Xence

elroy said:
			
		

> If it's an auxiliary, what form of a verb can it be combined with, and how does it affect the meaning?


It can be combined with any verb in present tense in order to express the continuous or progressive aspect.

_raani nekteb_ = I am writing



			
				elroy said:
			
		

> So "I will be happy" would be "raaye7 far7aan"?



No, in this case we would rather use the verb _nafra7_
I will be happy = _raaye7 nafra7_

Or, if I still want to use the adjective _far7aan_, I would add the auxiliary _kaan_:

I will be happy = _raaye7 nkuun far7aan_

In fact, the auxiliary _raaye7 _is more equivalent to the English _shall/will _or the fuS7a _sa/sawfa_.


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## sarllou18

Very _interesting_!
Xence which parts of Algeria use '_ghaadi' _which use '_raaye7_'?  I hear that western paerts use the latter and near Algeirs theu use the former?
Thanks!


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## Xence

Hi sarllou18,

No, it's the other way round.
_ghaadi _is used in the western regions (Oran, Tlemcen...),wile _raaye7 _is used in eastern and central regions (including Algiers).


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## شيري

Hi,
I was wondering what راك and راه mean in Algerian Arabic.

قل لي علاش راك تفكّر
راك معانا او راك وحيد
...
راه باين قلبك معمّر
راه باين ما عندك ما تزيد

The translation that I found for these lines says:
Tell me why you think
T 'are with us and you're all alone
...
It's obvious your heart is full
It's obvious you have nothing to add

even if I drop the راك and راه from these lines, I would still translate them this way, so I'm not sure what the role of these words is?
BTW, are these words formed by adding a pronoun suffix to را such that there can also be راي, راها, رانا etc.?
Thanks!


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## إسكندراني

It is a bit like the verb 'to be'.
راك تفكّر = you are thinking
راه باين = it is clear


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## شيري

Thanks! So is the entire conjugation: راي, راك, راك, راه, راها, رانا, راكم, راهم?


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## إسكندراني

شيري said:


> راني, راك, راكي, راه, راها, رانا, راكم, راهم?


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## Magmod

What's the equivalent word in written Arabic, instead of colloquial?
راني, راك, راكي, راه, راها, رانا, راكم, راهم


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## Arabus

You can use إنّ like WH said.


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## Hemza

Xence said:


> Not in Algerian. _Raani _means exactly "I am". If I would like to emphasize, I would add something like _Sa77_



That's funny because in Moroccan, it's used to emphasize, and not in the  same way as Algerian . I  think we use it much less than you because it's only used to emphasize  while for "I'm doing" we add a "ka/ta" before the verb  ("kanaktab/tanaktab").

Ps: we pronounce it "*a*raani" not "raani" but may be, it's typically from my area, I don't know how other Moroccan areas pronounce it.


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## Marruecos14

Not at all !  We use "ra" exactly like Algerian's people do... 
We also say "rani", "rak (i)", "rah (a)", "rakoum", "rahoum"...
Fin rakoum : where are you ?
Rani 3eyan : I am tired, sick
Rahoum f dar : They are at home
Rah bezzaf had chi : That's too much ! 
Rak kliti bezzaf : you have eaten too much!
That's very, very common !

"Rah" is always used  just like the "rahou" (used in Algeria and Tunisia)... 

And I agree that sometimes, it's used to emphazise... "rani ta nel3eb", for instance.


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## Bakr

المغاربة يستعملون راني، راك..الخ
ولكن في حالة استعمال هذا الفعل بشكل معين يكون دالا على أن من يستعمله من منطقة شرق المغرب (أو ما يسميه المغاربة المغرب الشرقي) ـ


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## Hemza

Marruecos14: I have an Algerian friend who uses it ALL the time to say "I'm  doing/going/making" etc while I never use it, I use the prefix "ta" (and  more rarely, "ka"). I say "tanakul" while my Algerian friend would say  "rani nakul".
When I hear this word in Morocco, it's always in a mean to emphasize, not for present progressive like Algerians*. *For your first example, I would have say (and I hear):

"faynkoum": where are you?

And for the other examples you gave, the "arah/arahoum/arak" etc are  used to emphasize, they're not used for present progressive like  Algerians do  because you can remove it from the sentence, it still has the same meaning . Of course, what I said has no value if you're from Eastern Morocco


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## Marruecos14

Hello  No, I am from Fes, and I can assure that "Ra" is used exactly as I told you.
Fayen rakoum... Rak 3eyan... Rahoum 7echmou... 
I suppose you don't live in Morocco ? Do you ? (I remember last time when you told me you have never heard the word "3etrouss" which is very common throughout Morocco).


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## Zoghbi

> He is my friend = _raah Saa7bi_



As an algerian speaker I don't agree this part at all , it sounds very strange, for me this particule (rani, rak, ...)  are not_ "exactly the equivalent of the English verb "__to be""_ like the author said. It's more something such as the english's present continuous:

howa yakoul elkesra هو ياكل الكسرة he eat the bread --> he use to eat the bread (general truth)
howa rahou yakoul elkesra هو راه ياكل الكسرة  he is eating the bread

so he is my friend = هو صاحبي howa sa7bi


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## Marruecos14

"Hada sa7bi" in Moroccan...

Oui, on dit "rani"/ "rak"... le "a", c'est pour insister... mais la forme est bien "rani/rak"... Le "a" pour insister se retrouve dans plein de mots "A fayn rak"... "a chnou derti"... Donc, ça ne veut pas dire que l'auxiliaire "être" soit "Arani ou arak"... Par rapport aux verbes, c'est effectivement facultatif et utilisé uniquement pour insister sur l'action réalisée : "rani ta nchouf" (je suis en train de regarder) / "ta nchouf" (je regarde). 
L'auxiliaire "ra" s'utilise très fréquemment, comme dans les exemples que j'ai proposés, càd "fayen rakoum"... "rahoum 3yaw"... "rak f dar"... "rani mridd"...


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## ajamiyya عجمية

Mod note: this post is split from here.


cherine said:


> True about رَ not being commonly used, if at all.



Hello.  I have a question about the command form  رَ .  It seems to me that it is used in Moroccan/Algerian Dialect.  I've heard it in regular speech as well, but, by way of example, here are some lyrics from the contemporary song,
*Babylone : Zina بابلون: زينة*

My question is, are these instances of the use of command form of the verb "to see" رأى , or is this something different?

...اليوم راني معاك غدوة تاني متمني يكتب المكتوب و نكون حذاك.....
Today you can see that I am with you.  Tomorrow, again, my hope is that fate will issue its decree and I will be at your side
...راني مجروح شكون لي يداويني...
See me; I am injured; who will treat (my wounds)
...يازينة فهمي لمعاني أمين راه راح وكل مولاه العالي...
Oh Zina, understand what this means; Ameen, see him, he's left and set his trust in his Protector Most High

​


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## Hemza

Hello,

It's also used in Tunisia and Libya . But Moroccan and Algerian make a different use of it between both. (By the way, Zina is an Algerian song). It's pronounced "راني" but it's in fact the imperative, "أراني".

Your translation of the lyrics is good. It does mean "see me" but it's used as "I am" and also like "I'm doing something", like "أراني نعمل/ندير".

Algerians (as far as I know) use it like the present continuous in English while in Moroccan, it's not the case (except in Eastern Morocco near the Algerian border). Moroccans use it like a means to emphasis on something.

Note also that this verb is also used as a means to emphasis by Gulf and Najdi dialects speakers but in another form, "تراني" 

Hope it helps .


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