khtiyari ختياري
Moroccan Darija · adjective
“khtiyari” (ختياري) is an adjective in Moroccan Darija meaning optional.
Meanings
- optional
- voluntary, not compulsory
Usage
Khtiyari describes what is not obligatory: a subject, an activity, participation. The feminine is khtiyariya, for example lmada khtiyariya (the subject is optional). The word belongs rather to the school, administrative or formal register. In everyday conversation, people readily say machi daroori (not necessary) or bghiti, ma bghitich (if you want, otherwise never mind). It is nonetheless heard at school, at work and in announcements. The opposite is ijbari (compulsory).
Example
الحضور ختياري
l7oudour khtiyari
“Attendance is optional.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khtiyari” but also “khtiari”, “ikhtiyari” and “5tiyari”. 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.