9ortass قرطاس
Tunisian Derja · noun
“9ortass” (قرطاس) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning cartridge, bullet.
Meanings
- cartridge, bullet
- sheet of paper (literary)
Usage
In Tunisian, 9ortas or 9artas commonly means a cartridge or bullet, whether for a hunting rifle or a handgun. It is heard in hunting stories, crime reports and war accounts. The old sense of "sheet of paper" exists in Classical Arabic and in religious or literary quotations, but it does not belong to everyday spoken language. The usual plural is 9rates. Avoid translating it as "paper" in ordinary conversation.
Example
الصياد حط قرطاس في الفيزي.
e-sayyed 7att 9ortas fil fizi.
“The hunter put a cartridge in the rifle.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9ortass” but also “9artas”, “9ortas” and “qartas”. 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.