khota خطة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“khota” (خطة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning plan, strategy.
Meanings
- plan, strategy
- scheme, plot
Usage
A common word for a plan of action, in everyday life as well as at work. It is used with dar or ḥeṭṭ: ndiru khoṭṭa (let's make a plan). The plural is khoṭaṭ. With an adjective it can mean a scheme: khoṭṭa jahannamiya (a diabolical plan), often said jokingly. In youth slang you also hear plan, borrowed from French, in the sense of "good plan" (a good tip or deal). The word is pronounced with a short o and a strong ṭ.
Example
هادي خطة مزيانة!
hadi khoTTa mzyana!
“That's a good plan!”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khota” but also “khotta”, “5otta” and “khouta”. 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 “khota” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “plan, strategy”; “post, position (administration)”: 5otta in Tunisian.