na7l نحل
Tunisian Derja · noun
“na7l” (نحل) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning bees (collective).
Meanings
- bees (collective)
Usage
Na7l is the collective noun for bees. A single bee is "na7la", and "3sel na7l" means real honey, as opposed to syrups. A bee sting is "qarsa mta3 na7l". Watch out for the homograph: written in Arabic without vowels, the same word can be read "n7ell", "I open" (from the verb "7all", to open). For example, "n7ell ech-chebbek?" means "shall I open the window?" Only context can settle it. The register is neutral.
Example
النحل عمل برشا عسل العام هذا.
en-na7l 3mal barcha 3sal el-3am hedha.
“The bees made a lot of honey this year.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “na7l” but also “nahl”, “n7al” and “na7el”. 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.
Type “na7l” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “bees”: n7el in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “I open / that I open”; “to open, create (account, group)”: n7el in Algerian.