chte7 شطح
Moroccan Darija · verb
“chte7” (شطح) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to dance.
Meanings
- to dance
- to move about, jump for joy
Usage
Chte7 is the common verb for "to dance" in Moroccan Arabic. It is used at parties, weddings, or when listening to music. In the present, one says kanchte7, "I dance", and kaychte7, "he dances". The corresponding verbal noun is chti7. Figuratively and informally, chte7 can describe someone jumping for joy or fidgeting. The causative chette7 means "to make dance". Be careful not to confuse it with chte7 in the Sufi sense of trance, which is more literary. In everyday use, it simply means to dance.
Example
بغيت نشطح فالعرس
bghit nchte7 f l3ers
“I want to dance at the wedding.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kanchTe7 | chTe7t | |
| nta (you, m.) | katchTe7 | chTe7ti | chTe7 |
| nti (you, f.) | katchT7i | chTe7ti | chT7i |
| howa (he) | kaychTe7 | chTe7 | |
| hiya (she) | katchTe7 | chT7at | |
| 7na (we) | kanchT7o | chT7na | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katchT7o | chT7to | chT7o |
| homa (they) | kaychT7o | chT7o |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chte7” but also “chteh”, “chta7”, “shte7” and “cht7”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.
Type “chte7” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to dance”; “to jump for joy”: chta7 in Tunisian.