ghatsa غاطسة
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“ghatsa” (غاطسة) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning absorbed, immersed in an activity.
Meanings
- absorbed, immersed in an activity
- submerged, underwater
- missing, out of touch (informal)
Usage
Ghatsa is the feminine of ghates, the participle of ghtas, "to dive". Literally, it is said of someone underwater. It is used mostly figuratively for a person absorbed in an activity: ghatsa fel 9raya, "immersed in her studies". Informally, it also applies to someone who no longer gives news: fech ghatsa?, "where have you disappeared to?". The word can also be a noun, "a dive", for example na3mel ghatsa, meaning scuba diving. The masculine is ghates and the plural ghatsin. The typical construction uses fi: ghatsa fi chay.
Example
هي غاطسة في القراية الجمعة هاذي
hiya ghatsa fel 9raya ejjem3a hedhi
“She's immersed in her revision this week.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ghatsa” but also “8atsa” and “ghatssa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 8 is light ha (ه) or ghayn (غ), depending on the writer.