jinsiya جنسية
Tunisian Derja · noun
“jinsiya” (جنسية) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning nationality.
Meanings
- nationality
- sexual (feminine adjective)
Usage
Jinsiya means above all "nationality". It is the word used in administrative procedures and in conversations about dual nationality, a frequent topic in the diaspora: "3andou jinsiya fransawiya" (he has French nationality). The word comes from Standard Arabic, but it is in common use. The same word is also the feminine of the adjective "jinsi" (sexual), in learned expressions such as "tarbiya jinsiya" (sex education). This second sense belongs to a more formal register. Context always makes it possible to tell the two senses apart.
Example
خذا الجنسية التونسية والفرنسية.
khdhe el jinsiya et-tounsiya wel fransawiya.
“He obtained Tunisian and French nationality.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “jinsiya” but also “jensiya”, “jinsia”, “jensia” and “jinsiyya”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.