esbou3 اسبوع
Tunisian Derja · noun
“esbou3” (اسبوع) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning week.
Meanings
- week
Usage
Esbou3 means "week". It is understood everywhere, but in daily life many Tunisians say jom3a instead, which also means Friday. Esbou3 sounds a little more formal and dominates in the media and the administration. One says l'esbou3 ejjey for "next week" and kol esbou3 for "every week". The plural is asebi3. After a number, the dual esbou3in is used for "two weeks".
Example
عندي اسبوع ما خرجتش من الدار
3andi esbou3 ma khrajtech mel dar
“I haven't left the house for a week.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “esbou3” but also “asbou3”, “sbou3” and “osbou3”. 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.