mktaba مكتبة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“mktaba” (مكتبة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning bookshop and stationer's.
Meanings
- bookshop and stationer's
- library
- bookcase
Usage
In Morocco, mektaba mainly means the neighbourhood bookshop-stationer's. You buy school supplies and books there, and often get photocopies, printouts and small administrative errands done. Mol l-mektaba is the shopkeeper who runs it. The word is also used for a public or university library, and sometimes for a bookcase. Pitfall for an English speaker: the word covers both "bookshop" and "library". Only context lets you choose. The plural is mktabat.
Example
فين نقدر نلقى شي مكتبة قريبة
fin n9dr nl9a shi mktaba 9riba
“Where can I find a bookshop near here?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mktaba” but also “maktaba”, “mektaba”, “mkataba” and “mktba”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “mktaba” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “bookshop and stationery shop”; “library (public place)”: maktba in Tunisian.