mt2akher متاخر
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“mt2akher” (متاخر) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning late.
Meanings
- late
- backward, lagging behind
Usage
Mt'akher means "late" and agrees in gender and number: mt'akhra, mt'akhrin. It takes 3la for what one is late for: "mt'akher 3al khedma", late for work. In spoken language you also hear mfawwet or m3attel, and the verb t'akhar, "to fall behind". Figuratively, it describes a country or a mindset as "behind", that is, backward. The hamza is often dropped in writing (متاخر) as in arabizi, where the word becomes mt2akher or met2akher.
Example
سامحني، راني متأخر على الموعد
sam7ni, rani mt2akher 3al maw3ed
“Sorry, I'm late for the appointment.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mt2akher” but also “met2akher”, “mta5er”, “mte5er” and “mta2a5er”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 2 is hamza (ء), a glottal stop; 5 is kha (خ), like the ch in Scottish loch.