9ita3 قطاع
Moroccan Darija · noun
“9ita3” (قطاع) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning sector (economic, professional).
Meanings
- sector (economic, professional)
Usage
9ita3 means "sector". The word comes from Standard Arabic, but it is well integrated into darija when talking about work or the economy. The most frequent expressions are l9ita3 l3am (public sector) and l9ita3 lkhass (private sector), for example in khddam f l9ita3 lkhass. People also say 9ita3 sse77a or 9ita3 tta3lim. It should not be confused with 9tta3, a form of the verb "to cut" or "to cross", often written the same way in arabizi, as in the corpus sentences.
Example
خدام فالقطاع الخاص
khddam f l9ita3 lkhass
“He works in the private sector.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9ita3” but also “qita3”, “9itaa3” and “9ta3”. 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; 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.