sen3a صنعة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“sen3a” (صنعة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning manual trade, skill.
Meanings
- manual trade, skill
- handicraft
Usage
Sen3a refers to a learned trade, especially a manual or craft one: carpentry, sewing, pottery, zellige tilework. Having a sen3a means having a skill you can earn a living from, and the word carries a sense of worth and security. A well-known proverb says "sen3a ila ma ghnat, tster": a trade, if it doesn't make you rich, protects you from need. A craftsman is a sanay3i, and traditional handicraft is often called sna3a taqlidiya. For an office job, people usually say khedma.
Example
ولدي تعلم الصنعة عند معلم النجارة.
weldi t3ellem sen3a 3end m3ellem nnjara.
“My son learned the trade with a master carpenter.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sen3a” but also “san3a”, “sne3a”, “sen3” and “sanaa”. 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 “sen3a” on the Arabic keyboard
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “manual trade, craft”; “skill, knack”: san3a in Tunisian.