9ten قطن
Moroccan Darija · noun
“9ten” (قطن) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning cotton (material, fabric).
Meanings
- cotton (material, fabric)
- cotton wool
Usage
The word 9Ten, often with the article (l9Ten), means cotton as a fibre and as a fabric: a cotton garment is dyal l9Ten. It also means the cotton wool bought at the pharmacy for first aid or removing make-up. It is often used to praise the quality of a fabric or bedsheet, as opposed to synthetic materials. The word is pronounced with an emphatic q, often written 9 in Latin script. No particular pitfall, except the very frequent form with the article.
Example
هاد التيشورت ديال القطن
had t-shirt dyal l9Ten
“This t-shirt is cotton.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9ten” but also “qten” and “9otn”. 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 “9ten” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “cotton (fibre, fabric)”; “cotton wool, absorbent cotton”: 9ton in Tunisian.