khet خط
Moroccan Darija · noun
“khet” (خط) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning line, stroke.
Meanings
- line, stroke
- line (transport, telephone)
- handwriting, calligraphy
Usage
A common word for a drawn stroke or a line: rsem kheṭṭ (draw a line). It also means a bus or tram line, as well as a telephone line: l-kheṭṭ maqṭu3 (the line is cut). Said of someone, kheṭṭ-o zwin means he has nice handwriting. The plural is khṭuṭ. Pitfall in arabizi spelling: khat, khalt and khalti are often confused. But khalt means a maternal aunt, which has no connection with this word.
Example
رسم خط بالمسترة
rSem kheT b lmisTara
“Draw a line with the ruler.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khet” but also “khatt”, “khat”, “khett”, “5att” and “khtt”. 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 “khet” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “line, stroke”; “route, transport line”: khat in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “line, stroke”; “phone line or transport line”: khat in Tunisian.