nheya نهاية
Tunisian Derja · noun
“nheya” (نهاية) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning end, close.
Meanings
- end, close
- far end, extremity
- limit, extreme
Usage
Nhéya, or nihéya, refers to the end of a period, an event or a space. It is used mainly in the construction "fi nhéyet...": "fi nhéyet ech-chhar" (at the end of the month), "fi nhéyet el kar" (at the back of the bus). The word is slightly more formal than "ekher" or "tali", which are more frequent in everyday conversation ("ekher ech-chhar"). In a familiar register, "wsel lel nhéya" means to go all the way, to reach the top of something. Before a complement, the word takes the form nhéyet.
Example
نخلّصك في نهاية الشهر
nkhalsek fi nheyet ech-chhar
“I'll pay you at the end of the month.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “nheya” but also “nihaya”, “nhaya”, “nihéya”, “nheyet” and “nhayet”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find نهاية and نهايه, all the same word.