akhtar اخطر
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“akhtar” (اخطر) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning more dangerous, more serious.
Meanings
- more dangerous, more serious
- most dangerous, worst
Usage
Akhtar is the comparative of khtir ("dangerous, serious"). It is constructed with men for comparison: akhtar men el corona, "more serious than corona". Placed before a noun, it takes on the value of a superlative: akhtar haja, "the most dangerous thing". Like other Arabic comparatives, it stays invariable in gender and number. The word applies to situations, illnesses or people. It is very common in debates and comments, to designate what is judged more worrying than a problem already mentioned. Pitfall for an English speaker: do not add an equivalent of "more", since the form akhtar already carries the comparison.
Example
الجهل أخطر من المرض.
el jahl akhtar men el mard.
“Ignorance is more dangerous than disease.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “akhtar” but also “a5tar”, “akhter” and “a5ter”. 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.