na7la نحلة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“na7la” (نحلة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning bee.
Meanings
- bee
Usage
Na7la is the common word for bee, in the feminine singular. The collective is na7l, "bees" in general, as in 3sal na7l, "honeybee honey". It is used in the countryside, in beekeeping, and in the city when a bee gets into the house or stings someone. The na7la malka is the queen of the hive. Figuratively, a hardworking, tireless person is sometimes called a na7la. In written arabizi, the digit 7 stands for the strong Arabic h, which does not exist in English. Do not confuse it with a light aspirated h.
Example
النحلة تعمل العسل
ennahla ta3mel el 3sal
“The bee makes honey.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “na7la” but also “nahla” and “n7la”. 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 “na7la” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “bee”: n7la in Moroccan.