ih ايه
Tunisian Derja · interjection
“ih” (ايه) is an interjection in Tunisian Derja meaning yes.
Meanings
- yes
- well, so (prompting)
Usage
Ih is the most common way of saying "yes" in Tunisia, in all registers of informal conversation. It is often strengthened to ih na3am for emphatic or polite approval, and doubled (ih ih) to show that you are following or agree. Said with a rising tone, it invites the other person to go on: "yes? and then?". In writing, do not confuse it with ayy ("any"), sometimes spelled the same way in Arabic script. Na3am, more formal, is used mainly to answer a call.
Example
إيه، نجي معاك
ih, nji m3ak
“Yes, I'm coming with you.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ih” but also “eyh”, “iyh”, “eih” and “iih”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “ih” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “yes”; “oh well, so (sigh, resignation)”: ih in Algerian.