9tte3 قطّع
Moroccan Darija · verb
“9tte3” (قطّع) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to cut, cut into pieces.
Meanings
- to cut, cut into pieces
- to cut off, interrupt (power, contact)
- to hang up (phone)
Usage
The form 9TTe3, with a doubled consonant, stresses repeated or complete action: cutting into pieces, chopping meat, vegetables, fabric. The simple form 9te3 is used for a single cut and for figurative senses: cutting off the power, interrupting someone, hanging up (9te3 men 3endek), giving up a habit, or crossing a street (9te3 zen9a). The instrument is introduced with b: 9TTe3 b lmus, with a knife. Present: kay9TTe3. Pitfall: do not confuse the two forms, which are not always interchangeable.
Example
قطّع ب لمقصّ
9TTe3 b lm9eSS
“Cut with the scissors.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kan9TT3 | 9TT3t | |
| nta (you, m.) | kat9TT3 | 9TT3ti | 9TT3 |
| nti (you, f.) | kat9TT3i | 9TT3ti | 9TT3i |
| howa (he) | kay9TT3 | 9TT3 | |
| hiya (she) | kat9TT3 | 9TT3at | |
| 7na (we) | kan9TT3o | 9TT3na | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | kat9TT3o | 9TT3to | 9TT3o |
| homa (they) | kay9TT3o | 9TT3o |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9tte3” but also “9atte3”, “9te3”, “qatte3”, “9ette3” and “9tt3”. 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.
Type “9tte3” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to cut into pieces, chop”; “to tear up”: 9atta3 in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to cut”; “to cross (a street, a road)”: 9ta3 in Tunisian.