achnahiya اشنهية
Tunisian Derja · pronoun
“achnahiya” (اشنهية) is a pronoun in Tunisian Derja meaning what is it? (feminine).
Meanings
- what is it? (feminine)
- what's the matter?
Usage
This is the feminine form of the interrogative "achnahouwa", formed from "ach" (what) and "nahiya" (she/it). It is used when the object of the question is a feminine noun: a story, a thing, a matter. The expression "achnahiya el 7kéya ?" (what's the story?) is used to ask what is going on. The more frequent short form is "chniya". The pitfall for an English speaker is gender agreement, which depends on the Arabic word, not on its English equivalent.
Example
آشنهية الحكاية؟ علاش الناس الكل هوني؟
achnahiya el 7kéya? 3lech ennes lkol houni?
“What's the story? Why is everyone here?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “achnahiya” but also “achnahia” and “achnhia”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.