zit زيت
Moroccan Darija · noun
“zit” (زيت) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning oil (cooking, esp. olive oil).
Meanings
- oil (cooking, esp. olive oil)
- engine oil
Usage
Zit is the common word for oil. Used alone, it often means olive oil, which features heavily in Moroccan cooking. "Zit l-3ud" or "zit beldi" specifies traditional olive oil, and "zit l-makla" cooking oil. It also means engine oil: "bddel z-zit" means to change the oil. It is a collective, uncountable noun: you don't say "a zit" but "chi zit" or "qer3a d z-zit" (a bottle of oil). With the article, it is pronounced z-zit, with a doubled z. The usual verbs are kebb (to pour) and dhen (to smear).
Example
واش كبيتي زيت
wash kbiti zit
“Did you pour oil?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “zit” but also “zzit”, “zite”, “zayt” and “ziit”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “zit” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “oil (cooking)”; “olive oil”: zit in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “oil (cooking)”; “oil (engine, cosmetic)”: zit in Tunisian.