9ana3a قناعة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“9ana3a” (قناعة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning conviction, personal certainty.
Meanings
- conviction, personal certainty
- contentment, making do with little
Usage
The noun 9ana3a has two senses that must be kept apart. The first is conviction, a firmly held opinion: 3andi 9ana3a elli… ("I am convinced that…"), b9ana3a ("out of conviction"). The second, with a moral and religious value, is the ability to be content with what one has. It appears in the proverb el 9ana3a kanz ma yafna ("contentment is an inexhaustible treasure"). The register is rather refined, but the word is common in speech. The adjective m9ana3 means "convinced", and 9ne3 means "to be convinced" or "to be content".
Example
عملتها عن قناعة موش خاطر حد قالّي
3maltha 3an 9ana3a mouch 5ater 7ad 9alli
“I did it out of conviction, not because someone told me to.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “9ana3a” but also “9ane3a”, “qana3a”, “kana3a” and “9ne3a”. 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; 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.