sbitar سبيطار
Algerian Darja · noun
“sbitar” (سبيطار) is a noun in Algerian Darja meaning hospital.
Meanings
- hospital
Usage
The word sbitar is the usual term for "hospital" in darja. The standard form mustachfa is reserved for writing or the media. The plural is sbitarat. It is used with the article: rah f sbitar, "he is in the hospital", dawh l sbitar, "they took him to the hospital". The expression sbitar l'mhabel, "the hospital of the mad", refers to the psychiatric hospital. It is colloquial and often mocking, and is thrown at someone to say they are crazy. For a simple doctor's office, people rather say tbib, "the doctor", or cabinet.
Example
داو باباه للسبيطار البارح في الليل.
daw babah l sbitar lbare7 fe lil.
“They took his father to the hospital last night.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sbitar” but also “sbitare”, “sbeetar”, “spitar” and “sbittar”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “sbitar” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
The same word also exists in Moroccan Darija, written سبيتار, where it means “hospital”: sbitar in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “hospital”: sbitar in Tunisian.