chnouwa اشنو
Tunisian Derja · pronoun
“chnouwa” (اشنو) is a pronoun in Tunisian Derja meaning what.
Meanings
- what
- which, what (before a noun)
Usage
Achnou (or chnou, chnouwa) is the common interrogative pronoun for "what". It goes at the start of the sentence: "chnouwa t7eb ?" (what do you want?). Before a noun it takes the sense of "which": "achnou 7kaya ?" (what's the story?, what's going on?), a very frequent way to ask for an explanation, sometimes with irritation. The short form ach is also used before a verb: "ach bik ?" (what's wrong with you?). Informal but neutral register, usable anywhere.
Example
أشنو حكاية، علاش الباب مسكر؟
achnou 7kaya, 3lech el beb msakker ?
“What's going on, why is the door closed?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chnouwa” but also “achnou”, “chnou” and “chnowa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “chnouwa” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
The same word also exists in Moroccan Darija, written شنو, where it means “what”; “which, what kind of”: chno in Moroccan.