khateb خاطب
Moroccan Darija · noun
“khateb” (خاطب) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning suitor, fiancé.
Meanings
- suitor, fiancé
- to address (formal)
Usage
In everyday darija, khaṭeb mainly refers to the man who has asked a woman for her hand in marriage: the suitor, then the fiancé. The feminine khaṭba means the fiancée. For example, "ja liha khaṭeb" means a man came to ask for her hand. The corresponding verb is khṭeb, "to ask in marriage". The sense "to address someone", given by some sources, belongs to Standard Arabic: it is heard in official speeches, rarely in conversation. The word should therefore be understood first in the context of engagements.
Example
جا ليها خاطب من فاس
ja liha khaṭeb men Fas
“A suitor from Fas came to ask for her hand.”
Conjugation
Forms as recorded in DODa and reproduced in its spelling, which often leaves out short vowels.
| Imperfective (present) | Perfective (past) | Imperative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ana (I) | kankhaaTeb | khaaTebt | |
| nta (you, m.) | katkhaaTeb | khaaTebti | khaaTeb |
| nti (you, f.) | katkhaaTbi | khaaTebti | khaaTbi |
| howa (he) | kaykhaaTeb | khaaTeb | |
| hiya (she) | katkhaaTeb | khaaTbat | |
| 7na (we) | kankhaaTbo | khaaTbna | |
| ntouma (you, pl.) | katkhaaTbo | khaaTbto | khaaTbo |
| homa (they) | kaykhaaTbo | khaaTbo |
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khateb” but also “5ateb”, “khatib” and “khaateb”. 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 “khateb” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to address someone”; “suitor (noun)”: khateb in Tunisian.