chtha شتهى
Tunisian Derja · verb
“chtha” (شتهى) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to crave (especially a food).
Meanings
- to crave (especially a food)
- to desire, to covet
Usage
Chtha is used mainly for a craving to eat: you "crave" a specific dish. Common forms are chtehit ("I craved"), nechtehi ("I crave") and yechtehi ("he craves"). The construction is direct, with no preposition: nechtehi kosksi, "I'm craving a couscous." The word belongs to everyday informal register. It's often used about a missing home dish when living far away. It can also express a more general desire, but this use is less frequent. For an English speaker, the pitfall is adding a preposition: none is needed.
Example
نشتهي كسكسي بالحوت
nechtehi kosksi bel 7out
“I'm craving a couscous with fish.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “chtha” but also “chteha”, “ichtha” and “chtehit”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.