aftah افتح
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“aftah” (افتح) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning lighter (colour).
Meanings
- lighter (colour)
- open! (imperative)
Usage
Aftaḥ is the comparative of fateḥ, "light" for a colour: in a shop one asks "3andkom lawn aftaḥ?" for a lighter shade. The adjective is invariable and is placed after the noun; "aftaḥ men" means "lighter than". Written the same way in Arabic, the form can also be the imperative "open!", pronounced rather efteḥ or ifteḥ. In that sense, however, Tunisians more often say ḥell (ḥell el-bab, "open the door"). Context determines which of the two readings applies.
Example
عندكم نفس السروال بلون أفتح؟
3andkom nafs essirwel b lawn aftaḥ?
“Do you have the same trousers in a lighter colour?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “aftah” but also “afta7”, “efte7” and “ifta7”. 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.