khtiba خطيبة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“khtiba” (خطيبة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning fiancée.
Meanings
- fiancée
Usage
Khtiba refers to a young woman who is engaged, after the official proposal (khotba) and before the wedding. It is mostly used with a possessive: khtibti (my fiancée), khtibtou (his fiancée). The masculine form is khtib (fiancé). It is a neutral term, common in family settings as well as in announcements. In derja, the vowel after the kh drops: one says khtiba, not khatiba as in standard Arabic. The related verb khtab means "to propose marriage." Be careful not to confuse it with khotba, which refers both to the engagement and to the Friday sermon.
Example
هاذي خطيبتي، نعرسو العام الجاي
hethi khtibti, n3arsou el 3am ejjay
“This is my fiancée, we're getting married next year.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khtiba” but also “5tiba”, “khatiba”, “5atiba” and “khtibti”. 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.
Type “khtiba” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “fiancée”: khtiba in Moroccan.