3la khater على خاطر
Tunisian Derja · conjunction
“3la khater” (على خاطر) is a conjunction in Tunisian Derja meaning because, since.
Meanings
- because, since
- because of, for the sake of
Usage
3la khater is the most common way to say "because" in Tunisia. It is used in speech and in informal writing to introduce a cause: ma jitech 3la khater kont mrith (I didn't come because I was sick). Followed by a noun or a pronoun, it means "because of": 3la khatrek (for you, because of you). The word khater also means "heart, mood". Not to be confused with bkhatrek (goodbye, with your permission). In Standard Arabic, one would rather say li'anna.
Example
ما خرجتش على خاطر الدنيا تصب
ma khrajtech 3la khater eddenya tsob
“I didn't go out because it's pouring rain.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3la khater” but also “3la 5ater”, “3ala khater” and “3la khatr”. 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; 5 is kha (خ), like the ch in Scottish loch.
Type “3la khater” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “because, since”: 3la khater in Algerian.