fouta فوطة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“fouta” (فوطة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning hand or bath towel.
Meanings
- hand or bath towel
- bath or hammam towel
Usage
Fouta is the everyday word for a hand towel or bath towel. People take it to the hammam or the beach, and use it at home to dry themselves. The usual plural is fwaTi. The word refers to a piece of terry or cotton cloth. A table napkin is usually called something else, or the context is specified. Common expressions: fouta dyal l7mmam "hammam towel", fouta kbira "big towel". The T is emphatic, which Latin spellings sometimes show with a capital letter (foTa).
Example
عطيني الفوطة نمسح وجهي
3tini lfouta nmse7 wjhi
“Give me the towel so I can dry my face.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “fouta” but also “fota” and “foota”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “fouta” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “bath towel, hand towel”; “tea towel, kitchen cloth”: fouta in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “bath or beach towel”; “traditional hammam cloth”: fouta in Tunisian.