3otla عطلة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“3otla” (عطلة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning holiday, vacation, leave.
Meanings
- holiday, vacation, leave
- public holiday, day off
Usage
3oTla refers to a period without work or school: the summer holidays, leave taken from work, or a day off. The most common construction is "f 3oTla": "ana f 3oTla", I'm on holiday. People also say "khdit 3oTla" (I took some leave) and "3oTla dyal sif" (the summer holidays). The word is feminine and takes the article l-: "l3oTla". The singular is enough to talk about a holiday period. The word is used in all registers, spoken and written.
Example
أنا ف عطلة
ana f 3oTla
“I'm on vacation.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3otla” but also “3utla” and “3outla”. 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 “3otla” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “holiday, vacation”; “leave, day off”: 3otla in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “holiday, time off”; “public holiday, day off”: 3otla in Tunisian.