matecha ماطيشة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“matecha” (ماطيشة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning tomato(es).
Meanings
- tomato(es)
Usage
Matecha, or maticha, is the usual word for tomato in Morocco. It is a feminine collective noun: "lmatecha ghalya", "tomatoes are expensive". For a single fruit, one says "wa7ed l7ebba d lmatecha" or "matechaya". It is used everywhere for cooking, the market and salad. One also says "matecha m3esra", crushed tomato, and "7ell d lmatecha", tomato sauce. Pronunciation and spellings vary by region: matecha, maticha, mateicha. Pitfall: the singular does not correspond to the darija collective.
Example
جبت هاد ماطيشة لي لقيت ف السوق هاد صباح
jbt had maTicha lli l9it f ssou9 had Sba7
“I brought these tomatoes that I found at the market this morning.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “matecha” but also “maticha”, “matisha” and “mateicha”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.