chnahou شنهو
Tunisian Derja · pronoun
“chnahou” (شنهو) is a pronoun in Tunisian Derja meaning what is it? (masculine).
Meanings
- what is it? (masculine)
- what
Usage
Chnahou is an interrogative formed from "chnouwa" and the pronoun "hou" (he/it). It is used to ask what a masculine thing is: "chnahou hédha ?". The feminine is chnahiya, and the plural is chnahouma. It is very common in speech, in all regions, and also serves to restart a conversation: "chnahou, ach famma ?". Pitfall: agreement is with the thing being talked about, not with the person being addressed. So one asks "chnahiya el 7keya ?" for a story, since 7keya is feminine.
Example
شنهو هذا اللي في يدّك؟
chnahou hédha elli fi yeddek ?
“What is that in your hand?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chnahou” but also “chnehou”, “chnaho”, “chneho” and “shnahou”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.