nosf نصف
Tunisian Derja · noun
“nosf” (نصف) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning half.
Meanings
- half
Usage
Nosf means "half". The most colloquial form in Tunisia is "nos" (نص). "Nosf", closer to Standard Arabic, is found in a somewhat careful register, in recipes or quantity indications: "nosf se3a" (half an hour), "nosf kilo". The word is placed before the noun without an article: "nosf el khobza" (half of the bread). For the time, one says "w nos": "el wa7da w nos" (half past one). In everyday conversation, "nos" is more natural than "nosf".
Example
نعجّنوا مليح و نخلّيوها ترتاح نصف ساعة
Na3jnou mlih w n5aliwha terte7 nosf se3a
“We knead it well and let it rest for half an hour.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “nosf” but also “nousf” and “nesf”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.