3anna عنا
Tunisian Derja · preposition
“3anna” (عنا) is a preposition in Tunisian Derja meaning we have, at our place.
Meanings
- we have, at our place
- at our place, available to us
Usage
Contracted form of 3andna, very common in speech: 3anna wa7da (we have one), 3anna ma ykaffina (we have enough). It is the preposition "at" followed by the pronoun "we/us". It expresses possession, like the verb "to have". The negation is ma 3annéch (we don't have). The English gloss "mean" points to a standard Arabic verb ("to mean") that has nothing to do with this usage. It can also be confused with 3anna, "from us, about us".
Example
عنّا برشا خدمة اليوم
3anna barcha khedma lyoum
“We have a lot of work today.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “3anna” but also “3ana”. 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 “3anna” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “at our place, at home”; “here, in our country or region”: 3na in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “we have”; “at our place, where we live”: 3ana in Algerian.