chkoun nta شكون انت
Algerian Darja · expression
“chkoun nta” (شكون انت) is an expression in Algerian Darja meaning who are you?.
Meanings
- who are you?
- who do you think you are?
Usage
Chkoun nta (masculine) or chkoun nti (feminine) is the usual way to ask "who are you?". The written form anta is closer to Standard Arabic; in speech, people mostly say nta or nti. Depending on the intonation, the question can be neutral, on the phone or with a stranger, or aggressive, in the sense of "who do you think you are?". The plural is chkoun ntouma. On the phone, people also say chkoun m3aya, "who is speaking?". Note: chkoun goes at the start of the sentence.
Example
شكون نتا؟ ما نعرفكش
chkoun nta? ma n3arfekch
“Who are you? I don't know you.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chkoun nta” but also “chkon nta”, “shkoun nta”, “chkoune nta”, “chkoun enta” and “shokon ant”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “chkoun nta” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “who are you?”; “who do you think you are?”: chkoun enti in Tunisian.