Etymology
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From Arabic قَطَعَ (qaṭaʕa).
Pronunciation
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qata’ (imperfect jaqta’, past participle maqtugħ, verbal noun qtigħ)
- to cut
- Qtajt subgħi. ― I cut my finger.
- to guess, to conjecture
Qtajna n-numri tal-lotterija u rbaħna.- We guessed the lottery numbers and won.
- to frighten
Qatgħuna dawk iż-żewġ wirdiniet.- Those two cockroaches frightened us.
- to surprise
2023, Nathan Anthony Pace, dbilt qabel kbirt, →ISBN, page 2:Qatgħek minn ġewwa dak il-leħen baxx li deher ġej mill-ispazji rqaq bejn il-petali bojod tal-kamumilla.- That low voice that seemed to come from the thin spaces between the white camomile petals surprised you.
- to go bad (of foods)
Il-ħalib ilu xahrejn fil-friġġ. Naħseb li qata’.- The milk has been left in the fridge for two months. I think it went bad.
- to decide (usually with a pronominal suffix)
Qtajtuha li tmorru kunċert ta’ Joker Out.- You decided to go to a Joker Out concert.
- to shut up
- Aqtagħha! ― Shut up!
- to buy (a ticket)
Ħa naqtgħu biljett għall-kunċert ta’ Joker Out.- We will buy a ticket for the Joker Out concert.
- to hang up the telephone
- Qata’ dal-bhima. ― This brute hung up the telephone.
Conjugation
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