terte9 طرطق
Moroccan Darija · verb
“terte9” (طرطق) is a verb in Moroccan Darija meaning to pop, to burst.
Meanings
- to pop, to burst
- to burst, to explode (ttertе9)
- to bang, to make a noise
Usage
Terte9 is used when you make something burst with a sharp noise: a balloon, a firecracker, a bubble. The reflexive form tterte9 is for things that burst on their own: tterte9 l-pneu (the tyre burst). The word is expressive and colloquial; it is also used for Achoura firecrackers or a banging sound. It is also heard figuratively, for example for someone who "explodes" with anger or laughter. Note the distinction between the deliberate action (terte9) and spontaneous bursting (tterte9).
Example
هوا طرطق نفاخة
8owwa TerTe9 neffakha
“He popped a balloon.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “terte9” but also “tarta9”, “trte9”, “tertek” and “tartak”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.
Type “terte9” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to explode, burst”; “to blow up, make burst”: tarte9 in Algerian.