i7timal احتمال

Tunisian Derja · noun

“i7timal” (احتمال) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning possibility, eventuality.

Meanings

1. possibility, eventuality
2. hypothesis, option
3. probability

Usage

I7timal comes from Standard Arabic but is well established in Tunisian speech. It refers to a possibility or a hypothesis. It is found mostly in set phrases: "famma i7timal" (it is possible that), "i7timal kbir" (it is very likely), "3andek zouz i7timalet" (you have two options). On its own, "i7timal" serves as a cautious answer, meaning "maybe, it's possible". In mathematics, it means probability. The plural is "i7timalet".

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “i7timal” but also “e7timal”, “ihtimal”, “7timal” and “i7timel”. 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.

Type “i7timal” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “probability, possibility”; “maybe, it may be that”: i7timal in Moroccan.