motor موتور

Moroccan Darija · noun

“motor” (موتور) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning motorcycle, moped.

Meanings

1. motorcycle, moped
2. engine, motor

Usage

Motor is a loanword from French "moteur", fully integrated into darija. A pitfall for an English speaker: in everyday use, motor mainly means the motorized two-wheeler, whether a motorcycle or a moped, and not just the engine. The word is masculine: motor jdid, "a new motorcycle". You say sag motor for "to ride a motorcycle" and tla3 3la lmotor for "to get on the motorcycle". The technical sense of "engine", for example of a car, also exists. The word is colloquial and very frequent.

Forms

Forms as recorded in DODa, in its spelling.

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “motor” but also “moteur”, “motour” and “mutur”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find موتور and موطور, all the same word.

Type “motor” on the Arabic keyboard

In Algerian Darja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “motorbike, motorcycle”; “engine”: motor in Algerian.

In Tunisian Derja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “motorbike, moped”; “engine”: motour in Tunisian.