nos se3a نص ساعة

Tunisian Derja · expression

“nos se3a” (نص ساعة) is an expression in Tunisian Derja meaning half an hour.

Meanings

1. half an hour

Usage

Nos se3a means half an hour. It is the usual form in Tunisia, where people say nos and not nesf as in standard Arabic. The expression is used without an article or preposition: "nestanna fik nos se3a" (I've been waiting for you for half an hour). To tell the time, people rather say "w nos": "jouj w nos", half past two. One also hears "nos se3a w zid" for a duration of a little over half an hour. In conversation, the expression is often approximate and can simply mean "a good while".

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “nos se3a” but also “nos sa3a”, “noss se3a” and “nos s3a”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.

Type “nos se3a” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “half an hour”: ness sa3a in Moroccan.

In Algerian Darja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “half an hour”: nos sa3a in Algerian.

How to say “half an hour” in Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian