ma9tou3 مقطوع
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“ma9tou3” (مقطوع) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning cut off (water, power, road).
Meanings
- cut off (water, power, road)
- unavailable, out of stock
- cut, sliced
Usage
Ma9tou3 is the past participle of "9ta3" (to cut). It is very often used for an interrupted service: "el ma ma9tou3" (the water is cut off), "edhaw ma9tou3" (there is no power), "ettri9 ma9tou3a" (the road is blocked). For a product, it means "out of stock, unavailable on the market": "essmid ma9tou3", "el 7lib ma9tou3". It agrees in gender and number: feminine "ma9tou3a", plural "ma9tou3in". It also applies, in the literal sense, to an object that has been cut or sliced.
Example
الماء مقطوع من الصباح.
el ma ma9tou3 mel sbe7.
“The water has been cut off since this morning.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ma9tou3” but also “maqtou3”, “m9atou3”, “maktou3” and “ma9tu3”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent; 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.