kettan كتان
Algerian Darja · noun
“kettan” (كتان) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning linen (fabric).
Meanings
- linen (fabric)
- flax (plant)
Usage
Kettan means linen, mostly the fabric, which is prized in summer for its lightness. For example, "qmija kettan" means a linen shirt. The word is also the name of the cultivated plant. In popular poetry and song, a piece of linen sometimes evokes a shroud, or a plain, modest cloth. The register is neutral, and the word is the same as in Standard Arabic. Do not confuse it with cotton, qoton, or with silk, hrir.
Example
شريت قميجة تاع كتان للصيف
chrit 9mija ta3 kettan lsif
“I bought a linen shirt for the summer.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “kettan” but also “ktan”, “kittan”, “kattan” and “kettane”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “kettan” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “flax (plant, seeds)”; “linen cloth”: kettan in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “linen (fabric)”; “flax (plant, fibre)”: kettan in Tunisian.