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Qatari dirham

Qatari dirham

7.9
A small unit of money in Qatar equal to one hundredth of a riyal
  • noun
translation icon : dirham qatarí
  • The price of the coffee was ten Qatari dirhams at the café.

Examples

  • He received his change in Qatari dirhams after purchasing a souvenir.

  • I exchanged my dollars for Qatari dirhams.

  • Exchange rates showed that one Qatari dirham was worth less than one US cent.

  • The price is 50 Qatari dirhams.

  • The price of the coffee was ten Qatari dirhams at the café.

  • He received his change in Qatari dirhams after purchasing a souvenir.

  • Exchange rates showed that one Qatari dirham was worth less than one US cent.

Surface Forms

Qatari dirham singular

Morphology

Qatari + dirham

The phrase combines the demonym 'Qatari' (of Qatar) with 'dirham' (a currency unit), so its meaning 'the currency of Qatar' is directly and transparently derivable from the constituents. The adjectival modifier + currency noun pattern is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily understand the MWE.

Etymology

Qatari dirham comes from an old name for a 'silver coin' used across the Middle East and may come from the Greek word 'drachma' that later became 'dirham' in Arabic. So today Qatari dirham is the name of the 'money' used in Qatar.