hakeya هكايا
Tunisian Derja · adverb
“hakeya” (هكايا) is an adverb in Tunisian Derja meaning like this, thus.
Meanings
- like this, thus
- of this kind
- this kind of thing
Usage
Hakkeya is a variant of "hakka" and "hakkeka". All mean "like this, in this way". The lengthened form is common in speech and adds an expressive or emphatic nuance. After a noun, it takes the meaning "of this kind": "7aja hakkeya" (something like that), "makla hakkeya" (food like that). It often accompanies a gesture showing how to do something. An English speaker can use it almost anywhere they would say "like that" in casual conversation.
Example
اعملها هكايا، موش هكّا.
a3malha hakkeya, mouch hakka.
“Do it like this, not like that.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “hakeya” but also “hakkeya”, “hakaya”, “hekeya” and “hakkaya”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find هكايا and هكاية, all the same word.