9tel قتل
Moroccan Darija · verb
“9tel” (قتل) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to kill, murder.
Meanings
- to kill, murder
- to wear out, exasperate (figurative)
Usage
9tel is the common verb for "to kill". It is used for people as well as for animals or insects. In the imperfect it is ye9tel, and the passive participle is ma9toul, "killed". The passive is formed with t9tel: "t9tel f l'accident", "he was killed in the accident". Figuratively it is very common: "9tlni b lhedra", "he wore me out with all his talking", or "9tlni d-dé7k", "I almost died laughing". Do not confuse it with 9tala, which means a beating.
Example
هاداك لي قتل جدي
hadak li 9tl jedi
“He's the one who killed my grandfather.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kan9tl | 9tlt | |
| nta (you, m.) | kat9tl | 9tlti | 9tl |
| nti (you, f.) | kat9tli | 9tlti | 9tli |
| howa (he) | kay9tl | 9tl | |
| hiya (she) | kat9tl | 9tlat | |
| 7na (we) | kan9tlo | 9tlna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | kat9tlo | 9tlto | 9tlo |
| homa (they) | kay9tlo | 9tlo |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9tel” but also “9tl”, “9tal”, “qtel” and “9etl”. 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 “9tel” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to kill”; “to exhaust, exasperate (figurative)”: 9tel in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to kill”; “murder (noun: 9atl)”: 9tel in Tunisian.