khatar خطر
Moroccan Darija · noun
“khatar” (خطر) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning danger, risk.
Meanings
- danger, risk
- dangerous (predicate)
Usage
With the article, l-khaṭar means danger or risk: fih l-khaṭar (it's risky). Without the article and in predicate position, the word is commonly used as an invariable adjective: ṭ-ṭriq khaṭar (the road is dangerous), hadshi khaṭar 3lik (that's dangerous for you). The adjective khaṭir also exists, but it is more formal. Among young people, khaṭar can take a positive sense, close to "awesome" or "impressive", depending on context. It should not be confused with khṭer (to drop by someone's place).
Example
كاين الخطر فهاد الطريق فالليل
kayn l-khatar f had t-tri9 f lil
“There is danger on this road at night.”
Forms
| plural | akhTaar |
|---|
Forms as recorded in DODa, in its spelling.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khatar” but also “5atar” and “khater”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 5 is kha (خ), like the ch in Scottish loch.
Type “khatar” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “danger, risk”; “because (khater)”: khatar in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “danger”; “risk”: khtar in Tunisian.