3tchan عطشان
Moroccan Darija · adjective
“3tchan” (عطشان) is an adjective in Moroccan Darija meaning thirsty.
Meanings
- thirsty
Usage
This is the most common way to say "I'm thirsty": ana 3tchan, or 3tchana in the feminine. The plural is 3tchanin. English uses a verb phrase ("to be thirsty") where darija uses an adjective, which agrees with the person: nti 3tchana? (are you thirsty?). To strengthen it, one adds bezzaf or says mt b l3tech. The word also applies to plants and animals, for example to land or a garden that lacks water.
Example
أنا عطشان بزاف، واش عندك الما؟
ana 3tchan bzaf, wach 3ndek lma?
“I'm very thirsty, do you have any water?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3tchan” but also “3atchan”, “3tshan”, “3etchan” and “3tchane”. 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 “3tchan” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “thirsty”: 3atchan in Tunisian.