mani3 مانع
Tunisian Derja · noun
“mani3” (مانع) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning objection, drawback.
Meanings
- objection, drawback
- hindrance, obstacle
Usage
Mani3 is used mainly in polite phrases to ask for someone's agreement: "3andek mani3 ?" (do you have any objection?), "ken ma3andekch mani3" (if you don't mind). The usual answer is "ma3andi hatta mani3" (no problem at all). It is also heard in the sense of "impediment", for example an administrative or family obstacle to a marriage. The register is rather polished, but it is perfectly common in speech. The word stays invariable in these fixed expressions and is almost always used with a negation or in a question.
Example
نجي معاك، إذا معندكش مانع
nji m3ak, ken ma3andekch mani3
“I'll come with you, if you have no objection.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “mani3” but also “manee3”, “mena3” and “mani3a”. 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.