mohtaram محترم
Algerian Darja · adjective
“mohtaram” (محترم) is an adjective in Algerian Darja meaning respectable, worthy of respect.
Meanings
- respectable, worthy of respect
- decent, proper, as it should be
- good quality, very good
Usage
Mohtaram is commonly used for a person who is polite, well brought up and serious: "rajel mohtaram" describes a decent man. The word also applies to places and things. A mohtaram place is reputable and suitable for families. More broadly, the word is a positive appraisal, meaning "really good". The feminine is mohtarma and the plural is mohtarmin. The word comes from Standard Arabic, but it is perfectly natural in darja, in a neutral register. "Decent" or "proper" will often be closer than "respectable" in many contexts.
Example
هاد البلاصة محترمة، تقدر تجيب فاميلتك
had lblassa mohtarma, tqder tjib familtek
“This place is decent, you can bring your family.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mohtaram” but also “mohtarem”, “m7taram” and “mohtarm”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.
Type “mohtaram” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “respectable, respected”; “polite, well-mannered”: mo7taram in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “respectable, decent”; “respected, esteemed”: mo7tarem in Tunisian.