atay اتاي
Algerian Darja · noun
“atay” (اتاي) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning tea (especially mint tea).
Meanings
- tea (especially mint tea)
Usage
Atay, often pronounced latay with the article built in, means tea. Most often it is green tea with mint served in small glasses. It is the usual term in a large part of Algeria, especially the West and the South. Elsewhere, chay or ettay is also used. You say "kas atay" for a glass of tea, and "ndir atay" for "I'm making tea". Tea goes with evening gatherings, hospitality and long conversations. The word is masculine. In practice, it is almost always combined with kas (glass) or with the verbs cherb (to drink) and dar (to make).
Example
أرواح نشربو كاس آتاي.
arwa7 nechorbou kas atay.
“Come on, let's have a glass of tea.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “atay” but also “tay” and “ataye”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “atay” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “tea (mint tea)”; “tea leaves”: atay in Moroccan.