bnt 3mti بنت عمتي
Moroccan Darija · expression
“bnt 3mti” (بنت عمتي) is an expression in Moroccan Darija meaning my cousin (paternal aunt's daughter).
Meanings
- my cousin (paternal aunt's daughter)
Usage
Bent 3mmti literally means "my paternal aunt's daughter", 3mmti being the father's sister. As with other kinship terms, darija always specifies the family branch: it must be distinguished from bent 3mmi (paternal uncle's daughter). The consonant m is often doubled in speech, hence spellings with one or two m's. The possessive varies: bent 3mmtek (your cousin), bent 3mmtha (her cousin). The corresponding masculine is weld 3mmti. In English, "my cousin" is enough.
Example
بنت عمتي تزوجات هاد الصيف
bnt 3mmti tzwjat had sif
“My cousin got married this summer.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “bnt 3mti” but also “bnt 3mmti”, “bent 3mti” and “bnt aamti”. 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.
Type “bnt 3mti” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “my cousin (paternal aunt's daughter)”: bent 3amti in Tunisian.