chetwa شتوة
Algerian Darja · noun
“chetwa” (شتوة) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning winter, cold season.
Meanings
- winter, cold season
- a rainfall, a shower
Usage
Chetwa means winter, the rainy and cold season, especially in the west of the country. Elsewhere, chta is used more readily, meaning both "rain" and "winter". Typical phrases are f chetwa ("in winter") and had chetwa ("this winter"). Depending on the context, the word can also mean a single rainfall, a shower. Note: chta on its own most often means "the rain" (chta tsobb, "it's pouring"). The register is colloquial and everyday. In both senses, the word evokes rain as much as cold.
Example
هاد الشتوة كانت باردة بزاف
had chetwa kanet barda bezzaf
“This winter was very cold.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chetwa” but also “chitwa” and “chatwa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “chetwa” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “winter”: chetwa in Moroccan.