ndhafa نظافة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“ndhafa” (نظافة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning cleanliness.
Meanings
- cleanliness
- cleaning
- housework
Usage
Ndhafa means the cleanliness of a place, a person or an object, and the act of cleaning. People speak of "7amla ndhafa", a cleanup campaign, and "3amel ndhafa", a cleaner or maintenance worker. In conversation, housework is more often called "tanzif" or "el ménage". The word is feminine. The corresponding adjective is "ndhif", clean. The emphatic dh is often written d in arabizi, which gives variable spellings.
Example
النظافة في الحومة ولّات خايبة
el ndhafa fel 7ouma wallet khayba
“Cleanliness in the neighbourhood has become dreadful.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ndhafa” but also “nadhafa”, “ndhefa” and “ndafa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find نظافة and نضفة, all the same word.