bita9a بطاقة
Algerian Darja · noun
“bita9a” (بطاقة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning card (official document).
Meanings
- card (official document)
- bank card, membership card
Usage
Bitaqa mainly refers to an official or administrative card. One says bitaqat ettaarif (identity card), bitaqat el-iqama (residence card), bitaqa chifa (health insurance card). It is a word of rather administrative register. In everyday conversation, many Algerians use the French "la carte" instead, for example "jib la carte". They also say "la carte d'identité" or "la carte grise" without translating. The plural is bitaqat. The Arabic word appears mostly in official procedures and forms, or when talking about documents to provide.
Example
نسيت البطاقة تاعي في الدار.
nsit el bita9a ta3i fi dar.
“I forgot my card at home.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “bita9a” but also “bitaka”, “bitaqa” and “betaka”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.
Type “bita9a” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “card (ID, bank, SIM)”; “national ID card”: bita9a in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “card (official, membership)”; “ID card (short form)”: bta9a in Tunisian.