masale7 مصالح
Tunisian Derja · noun
“masale7” (مصالح) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning interests, personal advantage.
Meanings
- interests, personal advantage
- (government) services
- errands, business to settle
Usage
Masale7 is the plural of maslha. In everyday speech, it mainly means someone's interests, often with a pejorative nuance of opportunism: 3ers masale7, a marriage of convenience; yemchi wra masal7ou, he only follows his own interest. In administrative language and the media, masale7 + noun means the services of an institution: masale7 wizaret e-sa77a, the services of the Ministry of Health. It is also used for business or procedures to be settled: n9adhi masal7i, I'm taking care of my affairs.
Example
هذاك ما يحبّ كان مصالحو
hédhak ma y7eb ken masal7ou
“That guy only cares about his own interests.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “masale7” but also “masala7”, “msale7”, “masalah” and “masale7ou”. 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.