kay9tel كايقتل
Moroccan Darija · verb
“kay9tel” (كايقتل) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to kill, be deadly.
Meanings
- to kill, be deadly
- to be killingly funny
- to be exhausting, unbearable
Usage
Kayqtel is the imperfective form of qtel "to kill". In its literal sense, it is said of a poison or a danger: had sem kayqtel "this poison kills". The figurative use is very frequent. Kayqtel b de7k means "it's hilarious, I'm dying of laughter". Used alone, kayqtel can also describe oppressive heat or crushing fatigue. English has a similar image ("killing", "dying of laughter"), which makes it easy to understand. The English glosses make it an adjective ("deadly"): it is actually a conjugated verb. The feminine is katqtel.
Example
هادشي كايقتل بالضحك
hadchi kay9tel bdde7k
“This is killing me with laughter.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “kay9tel” but also “kay9tl”, “kay9tal” and “kayqtel”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.