3ayet عيط
Tunisian Derja · verb
“3ayet” (عيط) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to call someone.
Meanings
- to call someone
- to phone
- to shout, scream
Usage
3ayyet is the usual verb for calling someone, either aloud or by phone. The object is introduced with l- or 3la: "3ayyetli ki toussel" (call me when you arrive), "3ayyet 3la khouk" (call your brother). The imperfect is y3ayyet, the imperative 3ayyet. With no object, the verb means to shout or scream. The old Arabic verb is not commonly used in the sense of phoning. You also hear "3ayyet bech y3awnouh": to call for help. The related noun is 3yat, meaning shouting or uproar.
Example
عيطلي كي توصل للدار
3ayyetli ki toussel lel dar
“Call me when you get home.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3ayet” but also “3ayyet”, “3ayyat”, “3yit”, “3ayyit” and “3ayyett”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.
Type “3ayet” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “to call (on the phone)”; “to call someone over”: 3iyet in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “to call (by phone)”; “to call out to someone”: 3ayet in Algerian.