9attous قطوس
Tunisian Derja · noun
“9attous” (قطوس) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning cat (domestic animal).
Meanings
- cat (domestic animal)
- cunning, resourceful person
Usage
9attous is the common word for "cat" in Tunisia. The feminine is 9attousa ("female cat"), the plural 9taties. It appears in many expressions: "9attous bou seb3a arwe7" (cat with seven lives) refers to someone who gets out of every situation, and "9attous fi chkara" (a cat in a bag) to something bought without knowing what's inside. Figuratively, calling someone a 9attous means calling them clever, even sly. The word belongs to the familiar, everyday register. The standard word qitt is understood but rarely used in speech.
Example
القطوس شرب الحليب الكل.
el 9attous chreb el 7lib el kol.
“The cat drank all the milk.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9attous” but also “9atous”, “gattous”, “9attouss” and “katous”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.
Type “9attous” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “cat”: qattous in Algerian.