khtibi خطيبي
Moroccan Darija · noun
“khtibi” (خطيبي) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning my fiancé.
Meanings
- my fiancé
Usage
The form khTibi combines khTib, "fiancé", with the possessive suffix -i, "my". A woman uses it to talk about the man who has asked her to marry him and whose commitment is recognised by the families: khTibi khddam f ddar lbiDa, "my fiancé works in Casablanca". You also hear khTib dyali, but it is less common. This word is not the equivalent of "my boyfriend": it implies an official plan to marry. Be careful when reading in Latin letters: khatibi can also be a family name, so the context needs careful reading.
Example
خطيبي جاب ليا هدية
khtibi jab liya hdiya
“My fiancé brought me a gift.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khtibi” but also “5tibi”, “khatibi” and “5atibi”. 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 “khtibi” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “my fiancé”: 5tibi in Tunisian.