t3ettel تعطل

Algerian Darja · verb

“t3ettel” (تعطل) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to be late, to take long.

Meanings

1. to be late, to take long
2. to linger, to dawdle
3. to delay someone

Usage

T3ettel means "to be late, to take long". It is a false friend for anyone who knows Standard Arabic, where the verb suggests a breakdown: in darja, for a broken-down device, one says khsser or tkwansa instead. Common constructions: rak t3ettel (you're late, you're dawdling), t3ettel 3la (to be slow to do something), t3ettel fiya (you're making me waste time). In the negative imperative, ma t3ettelch (don't be long) is very frequent. The noun 3otla, derived from the same root, mainly means holidays or a day off.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “t3ettel” but also “t3attal”, “t3etel”, “t3atel” and “taatel”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.

Type “t3ettel” on the Arabic keyboard

In Tunisian Derja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to be late, linger”; “to break down”: t3attel in Tunisian.