le9tat لقطاط
Tunisian Derja · noun
“le9tat” (لقطاط) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning the cats.
Meanings
- the cats
Usage
The word le9tat is the plural of 9att (cat), preceded by the definite article l-. The q is often pronounced as a g or a voiceless stop depending on the region. The word is very common in daily life, whether speaking of street cats, which are numerous in Tunisia, or of pet cats. The feminine singular is "9atttous" or "9atta" depending on the family. For a kitten, people rather say "9tayet". For an English speaker, the main pitfall is the assimilated article: you say "le9tat", not "el 9tat" as two separate words.
Example
القطاط ديما يستناو قدام الحانوت.
le9tat dima yestanew 9odem el 7anout.
“The cats are always waiting in front of the shop.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “le9tat” but also “l9tat”, “lqtat” and “legtat”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.