stenna ستنى
Algerian Darja · verb
“stenna” (ستنى) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to wait (imperative: wait).
Meanings
- to wait (imperative: wait)
- to await something, to hope
Usage
Stenna is very common throughout Algeria, especially in the imperative: "stenna" (wait), "stennay" for the feminine, "stennaw" for the plural. The verb conjugates normally: "nestenna" (I wait), "yestenna" (he waits). The object follows directly ("stennani", wait for me) or with "3la" in the sense of waiting for someone. It is often heard in "stenna chwiya" (wait a little) to ask someone to be patient. The register is neutral to informal.
Example
ستنى شوية، راني جاي
stenna chwiya, rani jay
“Wait a bit, I'm coming.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “stenna” but also “stena”, “stna”, “sstenna” and “stenne”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “stenna” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “to wait (for someone, something)”; “to hope, to expect”: stanna in Tunisian.