chanta شانطة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“chanta” (شانطة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning bag, handbag.
Meanings
- bag, handbag
- suitcase
- large bag
Usage
ChanTa means a bag: handbag, backpack, schoolbag or travel suitcase. Context makes the meaning clear. The plural is chanaT or chanTat. For a large suitcase you also hear valiza, and sak refers more to a backpack or a plastic bag. The emphatic T is often written with a capital letter in arabizi (chanTa). It is an everyday word, used throughout Morocco, in cities and the countryside alike.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chanta” but also “shanta”, “chenta”, “chantta”, “xanta” and “chnta”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find شانطة and شنطة, all the same word.