9tran قطران
Moroccan Darija · noun
“9tran” (قطران) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning plant tar, cade oil.
Meanings
- plant tar, cade oil
- tar (road)
Usage
The word 9tran mainly refers to black, strongly scented plant tar, or cade oil, sold at the herbalist's (l3ttar). It is used in traditional ways: coating the inside of clay water jars and pitchers to give the water a particular taste, treating certain skin or scalp conditions, and keeping insects away. It is said with the article: l9tran. By extension, the word can also mean the black tar of roads, but for the road surface people often use the word goudron as well. Note that the primary sense is artisanal, not industrial.
Example
دهن القلة بالقطران باش يبقى الما بنين
dhen l9olla b l9tran bach yb9a lma bnin
“Coat the jug with tar so the water tastes good.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9tran” but also “qtran”, “9etran” and “qetran”. 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.