katoliki كاتوليكي
Moroccan Darija · adjective
“katoliki” (كاتوليكي) is an adjective in Moroccan Darija meaning catholic.
Meanings
- catholic
Usage
Katoliki is a borrowed and adapted adjective, used for a person or institution of the Catholic faith: l-knissa l-katolikiya, "the Catholic Church". It agrees in Arabic fashion: katolikiya in the feminine and katolikiyin in the plural. It is used mostly when talking about foreign countries, Christian communities or religious schools. To refer to Christians in general, the usual term is nsara or masi7i. The word belongs to a neutral, rather informative register, and is little used in everyday conversation.
Example
قرات فواحد المدرسة كاتوليكية
9rat f wa7d l-madrasa katolikiya
“She studied in a Catholic school.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “katoliki” but also “catoliki”, “katholiki”, “catholiki” and “katolikiya”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.