chta شتا
Algerian Darja · noun
“chta” (شتا) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning rain.
Meanings
- rain
- winter
- what (regional)
Usage
Chta first means rain: "rahi tsob chta" (it's raining), "tahet chta" (it rained). It also means the cold season, winter, as in "fe chta" (in winter) or in the contrast "chta w sif" (winter and summer alike). Depending on the region, people also say lmtar or nou for rain. In some dialects, chta is also used as an interrogative pronoun meaning "what", in place of wach. This last sense remains regional: a listener will hear it far less often than the first two. Context tells the senses apart.
Example
البارح طاحت الشتا طول الليل
lbare7 ta7et chta tol lil
“Last night it rained all night long.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chta” but also “shta”, “chtaa” and “echta”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “chta” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “rain”; “winter, rainy season”: chta in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “rain”; “winter, cold season”: chta in Tunisian.