hedh هاذ
Tunisian Derja · pronoun
“hedh” (هاذ) is a pronoun in Tunisian Derja meaning this (masculine demonstrative).
Meanings
- this (masculine demonstrative)
- this (is) (presentational pronoun)
Usage
Hedh is a written, often shortened, form of the masculine demonstrative hedha ("this, this one"). It is readily placed after the definite noun, as in el-hanout hedha ("this shop here"). It is also found at the start of a sentence to introduce something: hedh video… ("this is a video…"). The feminine is hedhi and the plural is hedhom. Before a noun, Tounsi also uses the prefix hal- (halktab, "this book"). Pitfall for an English speaker: there is no verb "to be" in the present tense, so hedh followed by a noun can mean "this is" on its own. The register is colloquial and common.
Example
الكتاب هاذ متاعي.
el ktab hedh mte3i.
“This book is mine.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “hedh” but also “hedha”, “hadh” and “hédha”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.