te7tani تحتاني
Moroccan Darija · adjective
“te7tani” (تحتاني) is an adjective in Moroccan Darija meaning lower, bottom.
Meanings
- lower, bottom
- inferior
Usage
Te7tani is the adjective derived from te7t. It refers to what is located below, as opposed to fuqani ("upper"): ṭṭebqa t-te7taniya ("the lower floor"), ddar t-te7taniya ("the house below"). It agrees in the feminine (te7taniya) and the plural (te7taniyin). The figurative sense "inferior, of lower rank" is rarer. For a value judgment, qell men or phrasings with ma yswach are often preferred. The word is neutral and is used mainly to locate places, floors or parts of an object.
Example
ساكن فالطبقة التحتانية
saken f ṭṭebqa t-te7taniya
“I live on the lower floor.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “te7tani” but also “t7tani”, “ta7tani” and “tahtani”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.