kateb كاتب
Tunisian Derja · noun
“kateb” (كاتب) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning writer, author.
Meanings
- writer, author
- written, having written (participle)
- secretary (kateb 3am, kateb dawla)
Usage
Kateb primarily means a writer or author. In official titles it corresponds to "secretary": kateb 3am (secretary general, for example of a union or an association), kateb dawla (secretary of state). Very often, kateb is also the participle of the verb kteb (to write) and means "has written" or "is written": chnowa kateb? (what did he write?), kateb 3lih (it's written on it). The feminine is katba. Context distinguishes the noun from the participle, a frequent confusion for learners.
Example
هو كاتب معروف، كتبو يتباعو برشا
houwa kateb ma3rouf, kotbou yetbe3ou barcha
“He's a well-known writer; his books sell a lot.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “kateb” but also “keteb”, “katib” and “katba”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “kateb” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “writer, author”; “having written, who wrote”: kateb in Algerian.