i5tiyar اختيار
Tunisian Derja · noun
“i5tiyar” (اختيار) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning choice, selection.
Meanings
- choice, selection
- option
Usage
I5tiyar comes from Standard Arabic and is in common use in Tunisia, in the media, in comments and in fairly polished conversation. It is used to judge a selection: i5tiyar el dhyouf, "the choice of guests"; i5tiyar 3achwe2i, "a random choice". In everyday speech, people also use the verb 5tar / ya5tar ("to choose") or the French "choix", which is very frequent. The expression 3andek el i5tiyar means "you have the choice".
Example
عجبني برشا اختيارك للكسوة.
3jebni barcha i5tiyarek lel keswa.
“I really liked your choice of clothes.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “i5tiyar” but also “e5tiyar”, “ikhtiyar”, “5tiyar” and “e5tiar”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 5 is kha (خ), like the ch in Scottish loch.