5tibi خطيبي
Tunisian Derja · noun
“5tibi” (خطيبي) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning my fiancé.
Meanings
- my fiancé
Usage
5tibi is the possessive form of "5tib", the fiancé: it means "my fiancé". It is used during the period from the marriage proposal (5otba) until the wedding. The feminine is "5tibti", my fiancée. The pronunciation "5atibi", closer to standard Arabic, is also heard. In Tunisia, the French word "fiancé" is very often used in its place in conversation. This word should not be confused with "5atib", the speaker or preacher, in particular the mosque preacher.
Example
خطيبي جاي يتعشى عندنا الليلة.
5tibi jey yet3acha 3andna el lila.
“My fiancé is coming to have dinner at our place tonight.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “5tibi” but also “5atibi”, “khatibi” and “khtibi”. 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 “5tibi” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “my fiancé”: khtibi in Moroccan.