skat سكات
Tunisian Derja · noun
“skat” (سكات) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning silence.
Meanings
- silence
- on the sly, quietly (min skat)
Usage
Skat refers to keeping quiet, to silence. It is found mostly in fixed expressions. Mel skat or min skat means "without saying anything, on the sly": khdhéha mel skat, "he took it without making a sound". It can also suggest accepting something without protest. The corresponding verb is sket (yoskot), "to be quiet", with the imperative oskot, "shut up", which is rather curt. The word itself is not informal, but the expression mel skat often carries a nuance of reproach or insinuation.
Example
خذاها من سكات وما قال لحد
khdheha mel skat w ma 9al l7ad
“He took it on the sly and told no one.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “skat” but also “sket”, “skèt”, “sokat” and “skaat”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “skat” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “silence, quiet”; “quiet! shut up!”: skat in Moroccan.