9entra قنطرة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“9entra” (قنطرة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning bridge.
Meanings
- bridge
- footbridge, small crossing
Usage
9enTra is the usual word for a bridge, whether it crosses a wadi, a road or a railway. The plural is 9naTer. It often serves as a landmark when giving directions: "7da l9enTra" (near the bridge), "dez men t7t l9enTra" (go under the bridge). The word is also used for a simple footbridge or a small crossing over a ditch. The emphatic T is often written as a capital letter in arabizi. The word is neutral and used in all registers.
Example
دوز من فوق القنطرة
dowz men fo9 l9enTra
“Cross over the bridge.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9entra” but also “9ntra”, “9antra” and “qantra”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.
Type “9entra” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “bridge”; “footbridge, small crossing structure”: 9antra in Tunisian.