9ftan قفطان
Moroccan Darija · noun
“9ftan” (قفطان) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning caftan, traditional Moroccan dress.
Meanings
- caftan, traditional Moroccan dress
Usage
The 9fTan is the traditional long dress worn by women at celebrations, weddings and major occasions. It is often embroidered, trimmed with passementerie and tied at the waist with a belt (mdemma). It is distinguished from the takchita, which consists of two layered pieces, whereas the caftan is a single piece; in everyday use the two words are sometimes confused. The usual plural is 9faTen. People say lebs 9fTan, to wear a caftan, and specialised seamstresses make them to measure.
Example
لبسات قفطان زوين فالعرس
lebsat 9fTan zwin f l3ers
“She wore a beautiful caftan at the wedding.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9ftan” but also “qaftan”, “9eftan” and “9aftan”. 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 “9ftan” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “kaftan, women's ceremonial dress”: kaftan in Algerian.