lwa7ed الواحد
Tunisian Derja · pronoun
“lwa7ed” (الواحد) is a pronoun in Tunisian Derja meaning one, a person, oneself.
Meanings
- one, a person, oneself
- the one (number)
- per (unit: per day…)
Usage
El wa7ed literally means "the one". Its most frequent use is as an indefinite pronoun, equivalent to "one" or "oneself", often when the speaker is talking about themselves indirectly: "5alli el wa7ed yerta7" (let me rest, let people rest). The verb is conjugated in the third person masculine singular. It also denotes the number one in a count, for example "el wa7ed w tletin" (thirty-one). After a unit noun, it means "per": "fel nhar el wa7ed" (per day). Everyday register.
Example
الواحد ما ينجمش يخدم الكل وحدو
el wa7ed ma ynajjemch ya5dem el kol wa7dou
“One can't do everything alone.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “lwa7ed” but also “elwa7ed”. 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.