yemna3 يمنع
Algerian Darja · verb
“yemna3” (يمنع) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to escape (danger); survive.
Meanings
- to escape (danger); survive
- to protect, to preserve
- to prevent, to forbid
Usage
In darja, mna3 / yemna3 first means "to escape a misfortune, to come out unharmed". It is used mostly about an accident, an illness or death: mna3 b'rouhou, "he came out alive". In the transitive sense, with God as subject, it means "to preserve": rabbi yemna3ek, "may God protect you". The sense "to prevent, to forbid" comes from Standard Arabic. It is common in writing, but in daily speech people tend to say habbes or ma khallach instead. The main pitfall is to remember only the sense "to forbid".
Example
الطوموبيل تكسرت بصح هو منع، ما صراله والو.
tomobil tkasrat bsah houwa mna3, ma sralou walou.
“The car is wrecked, but he got out of it, nothing happened to him.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “yemna3” but also “yamna3” and “yemnaa”. 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.