ch8ar tnach شهر تناش
Moroccan Darija · noun
“ch8ar tnach” (شهر تناش) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning December, twelfth month of the year.
Meanings
- December, twelfth month of the year
Usage
Chhar tnach literally means "the month twelve". It is the usual way to say "December" in Morocco, following the system that numbers the months after chhar. It is used for dates, exams, accounting year-ends or appointments, for example fi chhar tnach. The noun "dujanbir", adapted from French, also exists. Tnach is the darija form of "twelve". It is short and has nothing in common with the Standard Arabic form, which can confuse a learner. At the end of December, people often talk about the arrival of the cold, lberd.
Example
ف شهر تناش كيبدا البرد بزاف.
f chhar tnach kaybda lberd bezzaf.
“In December it starts getting very cold.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ch8ar tnach” but also “ch8er tnach”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 8 is light ha (ه) or ghayn (غ), depending on the writer.