maqtoul مقتول
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“maqtoul” (مقتول) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning killed, murdered.
Meanings
- killed, murdered
- dead tired (informal)
Usage
Maqtoul (often pronounced mektoul) is the passive participle of qtel, "to kill". It refers to a person who died a violent death, as opposed to someone who died of natural causes: "mat, moch maqtoul" (he died, he wasn't killed). It is found in everyday language as well as in the news: "lgawh maqtoul" (he was found killed). The feminine is maqtoula, the plural maqtoulin. In conversation, it is also heard as an exaggeration meaning you are exhausted. The word is shared by Standard Arabic and the dialect.
Example
لقاوه مقتول في دارو
l9awh maqtoul fi darou
“He was found killed in his home.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “maqtoul” but also “mektoul”, “ma9toul” and “maktoul”. 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.