3tes عطس
Moroccan Darija · verb
“3tes” (عطس) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to sneeze.
Meanings
- to sneeze
Usage
A common verb. Past: 3tes (he sneezed), 3test (I sneezed). Present: ka-y3tes. It comes with a politeness ritual that is closely followed. The person who sneezes says l-hamdu lillah. Those around them reply yrhmk llah (may God have mercy on you). The first person then answers yhdik llah or ghfer llah lina w likom. Not responding to a sneeze can seem impolite, even between strangers. The corresponding noun is 3tsa.
Example
عطس جوج مرات ودابا راه مريض
3tes jouj merrat w daba rah mrid
“He sneezed twice, and now he's sick.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kan3Tas | |
| nta (you, m.) | kat3Tas | 3Tas |
| nti (you, f.) | kat3Tsi | 3Tsi |
| howa (he) | kay3Tas | |
| hiya (she) | kat3Tas | |
| 7na (we) | kan3Tso | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | kat3Tso | 3Tso |
| homa (they) | kay3Tso |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3tes” but also “3tas”. 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 “3tes” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to sneeze”: 3tas in Tunisian.