khzena خزانة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“khzena” (خزانة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning cupboard, wardrobe.
Meanings
- cupboard, wardrobe
- locker, cloakroom
- safe
Usage
Khzena commonly refers to a piece of furniture or compartment used for storage: a cupboard, a built-in wardrobe, a locker. People say "khzenet el 7wayej" for a clothes cupboard. In a hotel or a gym, the word means the cloakroom or locker. It can also mean a safe. The sense of "library", given by an English source, belongs to Classical Arabic and is not in common use in derja. For a library, people rather say "maktba".
Example
حط الحوايج في الخزانة.
7ot el 7wayej fel khzena.
“Put the clothes in the cupboard.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khzena” but also “5zena”, “khzana” and “khazena”. 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.