ostad استاذ
Algerian Darja · noun
“ostad” (استاذ) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning teacher, professor.
Meanings
- teacher, professor
- title for a lawyer
- respectful form of address
Usage
Ostad, often pronounced oustad, refers to a teacher, from middle school to university. It is also a title for politely addressing a teacher: chokran ostad. It is used for a lawyer, like "Maître" in French, and sometimes to flatter an experienced person. The feminine is ostada. The plural is asatid, in a more formal register. In everyday speech, many Algerians also say prof, taken from French, especially for high-school teachers.
Example
الأستاذ تاع الرياضيات صعيب
l'ostad ta3 riyadiyat s3ib
“The math teacher is strict.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ostad” but also “oustad”, “oustade”, “ostade” and “oustaz”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “ostad” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
The same word also exists in Moroccan Darija, written أُستاد, where it means “teacher, professor”; “master, expert (in a field)”: ostad in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “professor, teacher”; “lawyer, master (title)”: oustedh in Tunisian.