# All dialects: rain



## Zoghbi

What is the word used for "rain" in your dialect ?

I notice that, in algerian dialects, this word is a true cleaving feature: there are 3 variants, and each one can be associate to a kind of dialects:

_shta_ : شتا The word of old sedentary dialects (Algiers, Blida, Delles, Jijal, Tlimsan, Kasentinah, ...). It also means "winter" as in MSA and the link is obvious.
_en-noww_: النوّ The word of rurals of the "tell" التلّ (mountainous areas befores the steppes and the Sahara). The word is also known amoung Saharan dialects though it's rare.
It come from النوء a star wich was associated to the rain during Jahiliya.
_metar_ مطر : The word of saharian dialects (wich include the steppes).

Another words are also used in more specific meanings: 
_El-ghayth_ الغيث in a farming context.
_El-gerr _: القرّ rain with thunderstorm.


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## Guachipem

Here in Jordan I have heard both* شتا* and *مطر*, at least in the city. I don't know about the bedouins or the villagers.


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## elroy

شتا (shita) in Palestinian Arabic.


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## cherine

In Egypt, we use both شتا and مطر: in Alexandria, sheta refers both to rain and winter, in the rest of the country (I think) it's sheta for winter and maTar for rain.
Here's a thread about rain in EA.


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## Hemza

Zoghbi said:


> What is the word used for "rain" in your dialect ?
> 
> I notice that, in algerian dialects, this word is a true cleaving feature: there are 3 variants, and each one can be associate to a kind of dialects:
> 
> _shta_ : شتا The word of old sedentary dialects (Algiers, Blida, Delles, Jijal, Tlimsan, Kasentinah, ...). It also means "winter" as in MSA and the link is obvious.
> _en-noww_: النوّ The word of rurals of the "tell" التلّ (mountainous areas befores the steppes and the Sahara). The word is also known amoung Saharan dialects though it's rare.
> It come from النوء a star wich was associated to the rain during Jahiliya.
> _metar_ مطر : The word of saharian dialects (wich include the steppes).


Same in Morocco. Although I can't give a detailed list as yours  this is what I noticed:

شتا is used in urban areas.
النوّ and مطر are used in rural (النوّ is less spread but I think is typical from Eastern Morocco, I remember hearing it from a woman I met in Paris who was from وجدة).


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## tounsi51

Tunisia:

شتا النو and مطر


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## Zoghbi

Not enough returns from the Mashriq (only Cherine's answer agrees it for Egypt) to confirm this assumption: مطر>بدو, شتا> حضر. 
It's seems that "النو" is also unknown in the East despite the antiquity of the word.


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## ahmedcowon

cherine said:


> In Egypt, we use both شتا and مطر: in Alexandria, sheta refers both to rain and winter, in the rest of the country (I think) it's sheta for winter and maTar for rain.
> Here's a thread about rain in EA.



شتا as "rain" is also used in the Delta and Suez Canal governorates (Port Said, Ismailia, Tanta, Mansoura, Zagazig, etc.)


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## barkoosh

In Lebanon it's شِتي ("shité"), while شِتا ("shita") is used by some. They denote "rain" and "winter".


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## Hemza

Zoghbi said:


> It's seems that "النو" is also unknown in the East despite the antiquity of the word.



I'm sure the word isn't unknown in Najdi or some Arabian dialects. If not, it might have existed (why not in other dialects too) but may had been supplanted. Let's wait for our Saudis/Yemenis and Iraqis 



			
				ahmedcowon said:
			
		

> شتا as "rain" is also used in the Delta and Suez Canal governorates (Port Said, Ismailia, Tanta, Mansoura, Zagazig, etc.)



I confirm, I never heard مطر from my friend, he always says شتا (he's from a place not far from Tanta)


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## tounsi51

What about "it's raining"?

In Tunisia we say شتا  تصب (shté tSob)


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## Hemza

In Morocco, الشتا تطيح and in the South, المطر تصب. I never heard a verb used in Morocco for "to rain", I don't know if it "exists"


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## apricots

tounsi51 said:


> What about "it's raining"?
> 
> In Tunisia we say شتا  تصب (shté tSob)



In PA 3am bitshatti عم بتشتي or 3am tishti عم تشتي

There's also a verb for drizzling 3am bitbakhbekh عم بتبخبخ and for pouring rain kābse kabs كابسة كبس


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## WadiH

Hemza said:


> I'm sure the word isn't unknown in Najdi or some Arabian dialects.



Indeed the word is well known in Arabian dialects, but not sure if it means "rain" per se or a rain _cloud_.  Bedouins have dozens of words for rain and rain clouds and most of these are attested in Classical sources.


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## momai

As far as I know, both shiti/shita and maTar are used in Syria.


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## elroy

apricots said:


> There's also a verb for drizzling 3am bitbakhbekh عم بتبخبخ and for pouring rain kābse kabs كابسة كبس


 I've never heard the former, but it makes sense since بخ (ba55) is "to spray."  For the latter there's also عم بتزخ زخ (3am bitzi55 za55) or زاخة زخ (zaa55a za55).


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## cherine

Zoghbi said:


> Not enough returns from the Mashriq (only Cherine's answer agrees it for Egypt) to confirm this assumption: مطر>بدو, شتا> حضر.
> It's seems that "النو" is also unknown in the East despite the antiquity of the word.


I wouldn't say that مطر is related to بدو, as it is used in urban Cairo and other cities.
النو is similar to what we use in Alexandria (and I would expect other northern Egyptian cities) for rainy seasons which we call nawwa (singular)/nawwaat (plural) نَوّة / نَوَّات. They're pretty much fixed every year that we can have set schedules for them, like this one.


ahmedcowon said:


> شتا as "rain" is also used in the Delta and Suez Canal governorates (Port Said, Ismailia, Tanta, Mansoura, Zagazig, etc.)


Thanks, Ahmed! I thought it was just an Alexandrian thing.
People from Cairo laugh at us for using the season's name for rain. 


tounsi51 said:


> What about "it's raining"?


Where rain is شتا, we say الدُنيا بْتِشْتي eddonya'bteshti.
Where it's مطر, we say الدنيا بتمطّر eddony betmaTTar.
And in both cases, we can drop الدنيا .


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## Zoghbi

> What about "it's raining"?



تصب الشتا
يصب المطر/النو (sometimes also feminine)

Algiers's elders know the verb شتّى, "it's raining" = راه يشتّي.



> Indeed the word is well known in Arabian dialects, but not sure if it means "rain" per se or a rain _cloud_. Bedouins *have dozens of words *for rain and rain clouds and most of these are attested in Classical sources.



My aim was precisely to knows theses words and their differences.



> I wouldn't say that مطر is related to بدو, as it is used in urban Cairo and other cities.
> النو is similar to what we use in Alexandria (and I would expect other northern Egyptian cities) for rainy seasons which we call nawwa (singular)/nawwaat (plural) نَوّة / نَوَّات. They're pretty much fixed every year that we can have set schedules for them, like this one.



The fact that مطر is also used in Cairo's city can be explained by the influence of MSA or Sa3idi dialect (less likely). It's the non-use of شتا by the "rest of the country" wich tend to confirm my assumption.


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## Hemza

Zoghbi said:


> تصب الشتا
> يصب المطر/النو (sometimes also feminine)
> 
> Algiers's elders know the verb شتّى, "it's raining" = راه يشتّي.



You mean that the verb kind of disappeared among youngsters? I guess the same happened in Morocco... Shame


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## Zoghbi

Of course there is a lots of traditionnal vocabulary that is no longer used or understood by younger generations. It's not an arab feature nor maghrebi one, it occurs everywhere among societies wich experience a way of life evolution (especially in great cities), also I think that a great diversity of dialects in contact in the same place can tend to reduce vocabulary. In addition it's true that  our dialects undergo french language influence but it's another subject...


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## emanko

cherine said:


> النو is similar to what we use in Alexandria (and I would expect other northern Egyptian cities) for rainy seasons which we call nawwa (singular)/nawwaat (plural) نَوّة / نَوَّات. They're pretty much fixed every year that we can have set schedules for them, like this one.
> .



Hello Cherine
Do you happen to know any translation for "nawwa"? Should we just call it a rainy season?

Thank you


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## Aloulu

Actually in tunisia we have three words used for rain depending on the region.

In the capital they say الشتاء instead of مطر. So they would say "al-shita2 tsob". In middle Tunisia and other coastal towns we use مطر. But in the south they used النو.

We however pronounce المطر as "al-mTar".


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## She'lock Holmes

We use _shita _and _maTar _in SA but I personally believe that _maTar _is slightly more common. Shiti (unless in something like عم تشتي) sounds like a usage due to _imala _(Lebanese and _I assume_ Aleppine) to me.


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## tounsi51

Aloulu said:


> Actually in tunisia we have three words used for rain depending on the region.
> 
> In the capital they say الشتاء instead of مطر. So they would say "al-shita2 tsob". In middle Tunisia and other coastal towns we use مطر. But in the south they used النو.
> 
> We however pronounce المطر as "al-mTar".



In Bizerte we say الشتاء


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## cherine

emanko said:


> Do you happen to know any translation for "nawwa"? Should we just call it a rainy season?


Hi Eman,

Unfortunately, I'm not sure how to translate it. To me, rainy season would be the whole season, i.e. winter, while these are a few days every few weeks. Maybe seasonal rains or seasonal storms, because some nawwaat are more windy than rainy.
I hope someone can help with this.


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## fdb

In Yemen (or at least in Sanaa) they say maḍar, with voiced ط.


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## akhooha

cherine said:


> Hi Eman,Unfortunately, I'm not sure how to translate it. To me, rainy season would be the whole season, i.e. winter, while these are a few days every few weeks. Maybe seasonal rains or seasonal storms, because some nawwaat are more windy than rainy. I hope someone can help with this.


Badawi's Dictionary of Egyptian Arabic translates it as "one of a number of high, often rain-bearing winds that blow at regular intervals on the Mediterranean coast during the winter and spring" and then gives a list of specific ones that match up with the schedule that Cherine linked to in her Post #17:


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## cherine

akhooha said:


> Badawi's Dictionary of Egyptian Arabic translates it as "one of a number of high, often rain-bearing winds that blow at regular intervals on the Mediterranean coast during the winter and spring"


Thank you, Akhooha. Do you think there can be an equivalent term in English? If not, then you, @emanko, can just keep "nawwa" as it is, transliterated, and then add a note using Badawi's translation.


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## akhooha

I doubt there is an English word for that very specific meaning. Your suggestion to emanko is probably the best solution and is what English has done in the case of the "khamsin" winds. "Khamsin" now shows up in many English dictionaries.


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## emanko

Thank you all.


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