rah راه
Tunisian Derja · particle
“rah” (راه) is a particle in Tunisian Derja meaning look, note that (emphasis).
Meanings
- look, note that (emphasis)
- he is (currently)
Usage
Rah is a presentative particle. It draws the listener's attention to a fact or underlines a warning: "rah ma3andich wa9t" (look, I don't have time). In Tunisian, it is used mainly with a suffixed pronoun: rani (I), rak (you), rahou (he), rahi (she), rana (we), rakom (you, plural), rahom (they). The form rahou often serves as an invariable "careful, mind you". It has no meaning of its own that can be translated word for word: depending on context, it can be rendered in English as "look", "you know" or "careful".
Example
راهو الوقت فات، يزّي من الحكي.
rahou el wa9t fet, yezzi mel 7ki.
“Look, it's late, enough talking.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “rah” but also “rahou”, “raho” and “ra”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “rah” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “presentative particle, "here is"”; “marks ongoing state or action”: rah in Algerian.