9otna قطنة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“9otna” (قطنة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning cotton wool, absorbent cotton.
Meanings
- cotton wool, absorbent cotton
- cotton (fibre, fabric)
Usage
9otna refers mainly to cotton wool bought at the pharmacy, used to clean a wound, remove makeup, or apply a product. One says "chwaya 9otna" for a bit of cotton, "bou9 9otna" or "7ab 9otna" for a piece. The word also covers cotton as a material (a cotton garment), though "9otn" is often heard in that case. It belongs to everyday register and carries no particular connotation. For an English speaker, the difficulty lies in the initial q, often pronounced emphatically and written 9 in arabizi.
Example
حطّ شويّة قطنة على الجرح
7ott chwaya 9otna 3al jor7
“Put a little cotton wool on the wound.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9otna” but also “qotna”, “9otn” and “kotna”. 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.