is3af اسعاف
Tunisian Derja · noun
“is3af” (اسعاف) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning ambulance, rescue vehicle.
Meanings
- ambulance, rescue vehicle
- emergency help, first aid
Usage
Is3af comes from Standard Arabic but is in common use in Tunisia, mostly to mean the ambulance. It is heard on its own ("jé l'is3af", the ambulance has arrived) or in karhbet is3af, "ambulance car". The most natural verb with this word is kallem ("to call"): "kallem l'is3af". The French word "ambulance", pronounced the Tunisian way, is also often heard. The abstract meaning "emergency help, first aid" belongs more to a formal register, that of the media or administration. Note: the article is sometimes written attached to the word, hence spellings like lis3af or el is3af.
Example
صاحبي طاح في الشارع، كلّمنا الإسعاف.
sa7bi ta7 fi chera3, kallemna l'is3af.
“My friend fell in the street, we called the ambulance.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “is3af” but also “es3af”, “isaaf”, “is3aaf” and “esaaf”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.