mosta9im مستقيم
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“mosta9im” (مستقيم) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning upright, honest.
Meanings
- upright, honest
- straight, rectilinear
Usage
Mosta9im comes from standard Arabic but is common in Tunisia, especially in the moral sense. A person is called mosta9im when they are honest, serious, without tricks or shady dealings: rajel mosta9im. In this sense the word is complimentary and fairly formal. In a more colloquial register you also hear dorghri or n9i. In the physical sense, for a straight line or road, it is used mainly in a school or technical context. To give directions, people rather say toul or "straight ahead." The feminine is mosta9ima.
Example
باباه راجل مستقيم، عمرو ما خذا حق حد.
babeh rajel mosta9im, 3omrou ma khdha 7a9 7ad.
“His father is an upright man, he never took what was owed to anyone.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mosta9im” but also “mostakim”, “mustakim” and “mostaqim”. 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.