3ana عنا
Algerian Darja · preposition
“3ana” (عنا) is a preposition in Algerian Darja meaning we have.
Meanings
- we have
- at our place, where we live
Usage
Contracted form of 3andna: the preposition 3and ("at") followed by the first person plural suffix. It has nothing to do with the classical verb "to mean", despite some glosses. It is used to express possession (3ana zit, "we have oil"), with lazem for a necessity (lazem ykoun 3ana, "we must have") or to situate a habit (3ana f la famille, "at our place, in the family"). The negation is built with ma… ch: ma3anach. The register is common and informal. The two forms, 3ana and 3andna, coexist depending on speakers and regions.
Example
عنا دار قريبة للبحر.
3ana dar qriba lel bher.
“We have a house near the sea.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3ana” but also “3anna”, “aana” and “3na”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.
Type “3ana” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “at our place, at home”; “here, in our country or region”: 3na in Moroccan.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “we have, at our place”; “at our place, available to us”: 3anna in Tunisian.