3amti عمتي
Algerian Darja · noun
“3amti” (عمتي) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning my paternal aunt.
Meanings
- my paternal aunt
- ma'am (respectful address)
Usage
3ammti means the father's sister. The mother's sister is khalti, and the distinction is systematic, unlike English "aunt". It is the possessed form of 3amma ("paternal aunt"). People say ould 3ammti and bent 3ammti for the cousins born of the paternal aunt, to be distinguished from ould 3ammi, the son of the paternal uncle. Out of politeness, young people also call an older woman from their surroundings 3ammti. For the uncle's wife, mart 3ammi is used instead.
Example
عمتي جات من فرنسا البارح
3ammti jat men fransa lbare7
“My paternal aunt arrived from France yesterday.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3amti” but also “3ammti”, “amti”, “3emti” and “3amty”. 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.
Type “3amti” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “my paternal aunt”: 3mti in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “my paternal aunt”; “auntie (address for an older woman)”: 3amti in Tunisian.