khmsa w tlatin خمسة وتلاتين
Moroccan Darija · numeral
“khmsa w tlatin” (خمسة وتلاتين) is a numeral in Moroccan Darija meaning thirty-five.
Meanings
- thirty-five
Usage
In darija, as in Arabic, the unit comes before the ten, joined by w (and): khmsa w tlatin, literally "five and thirty." After a number, the noun stays singular: khmsa w tlatin derhem, khmsa w tlatin 3am. The w is often pronounced ou, and many people simply write the number in digits online. For prices, you may also hear sums in ryal, the old unit of account, which can confuse an English speaker: you then need to specify derhem or ryal.
Example
عندو خمسة وتلاتين عام وباقي ما تزوجش
3ndo khmsa w tlatin 3am w ba9i ma tzawwejch
“He's thirty-five and still not married.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khmsa w tlatin” but also “5msa w tlatin”, “khamsa w tlatin”, “khmsa o tlatin” and “5msa ou tlatin”. 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.