5ater خاطر
Tunisian Derja · conjunction
“5ater” (خاطر) is a conjunction in Tunisian Derja meaning because, since.
Meanings
- because, since
- for, out of consideration for (3la khater)
- feelings, pride (noun)
Usage
As a conjunction, 5ater introduces a cause: bkit 5ater 7abbithom (I cried because I loved them). It is used alone or in the very common form 3la khater. With a pronoun suffix, 3la khatrek means "for you, out of consideration for you". As a noun, khater refers to someone's feelings or pride: kasser khatrou (to offend or hurt him), 3ala khatrek (as you like, as you wish). The meaning "risk", sometimes found in dictionaries, corresponds to a different Standard Arabic word and does not apply here.
Example
ما بكيتش على فراقهم اما بكيت خاطر حبّيتهم
Mé bkitéch 3ala fré9hom ama bkit 5ater 7abithom
“I didn't cry over their leaving, but I cried because I loved them.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “5ater” but also “khater”, “5atr”, “khatr”, “khatar” and “a5ater”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 5 is kha (خ), like the ch in Scottish loch.
Type “5ater” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “liking, pleasing someone”; “mood, heart”: khater in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “mood, desire, heart for”; “regard ("for you")”: khater in Algerian.