ness sa3a نص ساعة

Moroccan Darija · expression

“ness sa3a” (نص ساعة) is an expression in Moroccan Darija meaning half an hour.

Meanings

1. half an hour

Usage

Ness sa3a means "half an hour". In pronunciation the two words often merge into nessa3a, hence joined spellings such as nssa3a. It is used on its own or with a preposition: men ness sa3a (half an hour ago), f ness sa3a (in half an hour, i.e. within half an hour), mn ba3d ness sa3a (in half an hour's time). For a quarter of an hour, one says rob3 sa3a, or simply rb3. One commonly says sa3a w ness for "an hour and a half". The expression belongs to the everyday register.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ness sa3a” but also “nss sa3a”. 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 “ness sa3a” on the Arabic keyboard

In Algerian Darja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “half an hour”: nos sa3a in Algerian.

In Tunisian Derja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “half an hour”: nos se3a in Tunisian.

How to say “half an hour” in Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian