khwatat خواتات
Moroccan Darija · noun
“khwatat” (خواتات) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning sisters.
Meanings
- sisters
Usage
Khwatat is the common plural of ukht (sister) in Moroccan Arabic. It is used in the literal family sense, especially to list the members of a sibling group: "3ndi jouj khwatat" (I have two sisters). With the possessive, people say khwatati (my sisters), khwatatek (your sisters). The word can also refer to women bound by friendship or religion, in an affectionate register. Be careful not to confuse it with khout, which means brothers, or brothers and sisters taken together.
Example
عندي خويا و جوج خواتات
3ndi khoya o jouj khwatat
“I have a brother and two sisters.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khwatat” but also “5watat”, “khawatat”, “khouatat” and “5wetat”. 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.