mtalla9 مطلق
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“mtalla9” (مطلق) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning divorced.
Meanings
- divorced
- absolute, total
Usage
In derja, mtalla9 (feminine mtall9a, plural mtall9in) mainly means "divorced". The sense "absolute" corresponds to another pronunciation, moutla9, from standard Arabic. It appears in expressions like 7okm moutla9 ("absolute power") or bel-moutla9 ("absolutely, not at all"), in a more formal or journalistic register. In writing, the two words share the same spelling: only context distinguishes them. The feminine form mtall9a, "divorced", is common in conversations about marriage.
Example
هو مطلّق وعندو زوز صغار
howa mtalla9 w 3andou zouz sghar
“He is divorced and has two children.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mtalla9” but also “mtala9”, “mtallak”, “metalla9” and “mtale9”. 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.
Type “mtalla9” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “divorced”; “absolute (formal register)”: mtelle9 in Moroccan.