handsa هندسة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“handsa” (هندسة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning engineering, engineering studies.
Meanings
- engineering, engineering studies
- geometry
Usage
A standard Arabic word fully integrated into Tunisian speech, especially for studies and professions. One says qra handsa ("he studied engineering") and the specialty is specified with a complement: handsa mécanique, handsa informatique, handsa fla7iya. In conversation, the French "génie" or "ingénieur" often alternates with handsa. At school, handsa also means geometry, as opposed to algebra. The engineer himself is called mouhandes. No particular register: the word works in everyday speech as well as in formal contexts.
Example
ولدي يقرا هندسة في صفاقس.
weldi yaqra handsa fi sfax.
“My son is studying engineering in Sfax.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “handsa” but also “hendsa”, “handasa” and “hindsa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “handsa” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “engineering, engineering studies”; “geometry (school subject)”: handasa in Moroccan.