dhya3 ضياع
Tunisian Derja · noun
“dhya3” (ضياع) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning loss (of an object, a document).
Meanings
- loss (of an object, a document)
- waste, lost time
- being lost, disarray
Usage
Dhyè3 means loss, in both the concrete and the figurative sense. In administration, chhèdet dhyè3 refers to the declaration of loss made at the police station for a lost ID card or passport. One also says dhyè3 wa9t (waste of time) or dhyè3 el 3am (a lost school year). Figuratively, the word evokes disarray or a youth without direction. The corresponding verb is dhè3 / yidhi3 (to get lost, to be lost), and the participle is dhaye3. The register is common, both in speech and in official procedures.
Example
لازمني نعمل شهادة ضياع للباسبور.
lezemni na3mel chhedet dhya3 lel passport.
“I have to make a loss declaration for the passport.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “dhya3” but also “dhye3”, “dhiya3” and “dya3”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.