khta خطا
Algerian Darja · noun
“khta” (خطا) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning mistake, error.
Meanings
- mistake, error
- something wrong, incorrect
Usage
Khta means an error or a mistake, often in a factual or technical context. For example: "kayen khta f lhalqa" (there is a mistake in the episode) or "hadi khta" (that's wrong). In speech, the most spontaneous word for an ordinary mistake is still ghalta, with the verb ghlet (to make a mistake). Khta sounds more standard. It is readily used for a serious fault or an inaccurate statement. Do not confuse it with khti, which means "leave me alone".
Example
كاين خطا في الفاتورة، عاود شوفها
kayen khta f lfatoura, 3awed choufha
“There's a mistake on the invoice, check it again.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khta” but also “khata”, “khatae”, “kh6a” and “khta2”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 2 is hamza (ء), a glottal stop; 6 is emphatic ta (ط).
Type “khta” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “error, mistake”; “step (when walking)”: khata2 in Moroccan.