ndhif نظيف
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“ndhif” (نظيف) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning clean.
Meanings
- clean
- honest, upright
Usage
Ndhif means clean in the physical sense: a house, clothes, a street. The feminine is ndhifa, the plural ndhaf. It also applies to people, to say that they are well-groomed or have good hygiene. In the moral sense, it describes someone honest, with no shady dealings: "rajel ndhif" (an upright man), "ydou ndhifa" (he has clean hands). The corresponding verb is "ndhaf" or "naddhef" (to clean). For an English speaker, the usage is close to "clean", with the same moral extension.
Example
الدار نظيفة و مرتّبة
eddar ndhifa w mratba
“The house is clean and tidy.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ndhif” but also “ndif”, “endhif” and “ndhifa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.