a9al 7aja اقل حاجة

Tunisian Derja · expression

“a9al 7aja” (اقل حاجة) is an expression in Tunisian Derja meaning at least, at a minimum.

Meanings

1. at least, at a minimum
2. the least one can do

Usage

A9all 7aja literally means "the smallest thing". At the start of a sentence, the expression means "at least", "the minimum would be to": a9all 7aja t3ayyetli, "you could at least have called me". It is often used to voice a reproach or a minimal expectation. It can also qualify a quantity or a price: a9all 7aja mitin dinar, "two hundred dinars at the very least". The register is colloquial and common. In English it is rendered, depending on context, as "at least" or "the least one can do".

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “a9al 7aja” but also “akal haja”, “a9all 7aja”, “aqal 7aja” and “a9al haja”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat; 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.

Type “a9al 7aja” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “the slightest thing”; “the minimum, the least”: a9all 7aja in Moroccan.