chate7 شاطح
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“chate7” (شاطح) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning dancing, in the middle of dancing.
Meanings
- dancing, in the middle of dancing
- (chateh bateh) doing as one pleases
Usage
Chateh is the active participle of chtah, "to dance". It is used for someone who is dancing, for example at a wedding. It is also part of the rhyming expression chateh bateh, which describes a person acting as they please, without restraint or constraint, often with a sense of nonchalance or arrogance. The typical construction is 3amel fi rou7ou chateh bateh, "he acts as if he were at home, he thinks everything is allowed". The nuance is often critical or mocking. The feminine is chat7a, the plural chat7in.
Example
لقيتو شاطح في العرس مع صحابو
l9itou chate7 fel 3ors m3a so7abou
“I found him dancing at the wedding with his friends.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chate7” but also “chateh”, “shate7” and “chati7”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.