masl7a مصلحة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“masl7a” (مصلحة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning interest, advantage.
Meanings
- interest, advantage
- errand, business to settle
- administrative department
Usage
Masl7a first means someone's interest or advantage: fi masl7at el bled (in the interest of the country), yekhdem 3la masl7tou (he acts in his own interest), often with a nuance of selfishness. In everyday life, the word also means a matter to be dealt with: 3andi masl7a fil baladiya (I have an errand to do at the town hall), qdhit masl7ti (I settled my business). In administration, it names a department or an office. The plural is msale7. The expression fama masl7a suggests there is a hidden interest behind someone's attitude.
Example
هو ما يجيك كان كي يبدا عندو مصلحة.
howa ma yjik ken ki ybda 3andou masl7a.
“He only comes to see you when he has an interest in it.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “masl7a” but also “maslha”, “masla7a”, “maslaha”, “masel7a” and “meslha”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find مصلحة and مصلحه, all the same word.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.
Type “masl7a” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “interest, personal advantage”; “errand, matter to deal with”: msla7a in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “self-interest, ulterior motive”; “errand, business to attend to”: maslha in Algerian.