3ta عطا
Moroccan Darija · verb
“3ta” (عطا) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to give, hand over something.
Meanings
- to give, hand over something
- to provide, to grant
- "3Ta llah": there's plenty
Usage
A basic, very frequent verb. Present: ka-y3ti (he gives). Imperative: 3ti (give). The recipient is expressed with a suffixed pronoun: 3tini (give me), 3tah (he gave him), or by l before a noun: 3ta ktab l Mohamed. The fixed expression 3ta llah means "there's plenty of it", often in an ironic or resigned tone: tanta 3ta llah. Hadchi li 3ta llah means "that's what there is, that's how it is".
Example
عمر عطا كتاب ل محمد
Omar 3Ta ktab l Mohamed
“Omar gave a book to Mohamed.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kan3Ti | 3Tit | |
| nta (you, m.) | kat3Ti | 3Titi | 3Ti |
| nti (you, f.) | kat3Ti | 3Titi | 3Ti |
| howa (he) | kay3Ti | 3Ta | |
| hiya (she) | kat3Ti | 3Tat | |
| 7na (we) | kan3Tiw | 3Tina | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | kat3Tiw | 3Tito | 3Tiw |
| homa (they) | kay3Tiw | 3Taw |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3ta” but also “a3ta”, “3taa” and “3ti”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find عطا and عطى, all the same word.
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 “3ta” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
The same word also exists in Tunisian Derja, written عطى, where it means “to give, hand over something”; “to grant, award (grade, prize)”: 3ta in Tunisian.