menghir منغير

Tunisian Derja · preposition

“menghir” (منغير) is a preposition in Tunisian Derja meaning without.

Meanings

1. without
2. otherwise, or else
3. apart from, except

Usage

Men ghir is the usual way to say "without" in derja. It goes before a noun (men ghir sokkar, "without sugar") or a pronoun (men ghirek, "without you"). At the start of a clause, it means "otherwise, or else". It is then used to warn or set a condition: "do this, men ghir you'll pay the consequences". For an English speaker, this second meaning has to be picked up from context, because it changes the whole sentence. It is often pronounced as one word, menghir or mel ghir. It is a neutral and very frequent word.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, it is written “menghir”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Type “menghir” on the Arabic keyboard