hsan حصان
Tunisian Derja · noun
“hsan” (حصان) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning horse.
Meanings
- horse
- seahorse
Usage
Hsan means "horse". In Derja, 3oud is also commonly used for a horse, especially in the countryside and in popular speech. Hsan is frequent in fixed expressions such as hsan 3arbi (Arabian horse) or hsan mta3 kourse (racehorse). The expression hsan el-bhar refers to the seahorse. The plural is hsina. Note: in online writing, the Latin spelling hassan can cause confusion with the first name Hassan, which is a different word. The word also appears in some vulgar expressions, which are best avoided.
Example
عندو حصان عربي في الضيعة
3andou hsan 3arbi fel dhay3a
“He has an Arabian horse on his farm.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “hsan” but also “hsane”, “7san”, “hsen” and “hassan”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.