gouti قوطي
Algerian Darja · noun
“gouti” (قوطي) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning box, metal or plastic container.
Meanings
- box, metal or plastic container
- tin can
- poor-quality thing (pejorative)
Usage
The word gouti commonly refers to a box or small container, often metal: a tin can, a sugar or spice box, a casing. It is also used for a plastic container. The most frequent plural is gwati. With the idea of tin plate, it sometimes takes a pejorative sense: "musique ta3 gouti" means cheap music, "tinny" music. The word is not vulgar and is used in all registers of everyday life.
Example
حط السكر في القوطي.
7ot sokkar fel gouti.
“Put the sugar in the box.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “gouti” but also “9outi”, “qouti” and “goti”. 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.