ibtida2i ابتدائي
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“ibtida2i” (ابتدائي) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning primary (education, school).
Meanings
- primary (education, school)
- primary-school level
Usage
Ibtida2i refers to primary education. It is used after the name of a grade or type of education: "sedsa ibtida2i" (sixth year of primary, the last year before middle school), "ta3lim ibtida2i" (primary education), "oustedh ibtida2i" (primary-school teacher). It is also heard ironically to put down someone's level, in phrases like "mostawah sedsa ibtida2i". Many Tunisians also simply say "primaire", in French. The pitfall for an English speaker: the Tunisian "sixième" (sixth year) is the end of primary school, not the start of middle school.
Example
قريت حتى للسادسة ابتدائي
9rit 7atta lel sedsa ibtida2i
“I studied up to sixth year of primary school.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ibtida2i” but also “ebtida2i”, “ibtidai”, “ebtidei” and “ibtidaa2i”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 2 is hamza (ء), a glottal stop.
Type “ibtida2i” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “primary (education)”; “primary school, primary level”: btida2i in Moroccan.