sa7li ساحلي

Tunisian Derja · noun

“sa7li” (ساحلي) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning from the Tunisian Sahel.

Meanings

1. from the Tunisian Sahel
2. of the Sahel, coastal

Usage

In Tunisia, sa7li mainly refers to a person from the Sahel, the central-eastern coastal region around Sousse, Monastir and Mahdia. The word is used as a noun or an adjective, with the feminine sa7lia and the plural sa7lia or swa7lia. It is neutral in itself, but it often appears in regional teasing, between football supporters or about accent. The context can therefore make it mocking. The general geographic sense of "coastal" belongs more to the standard register.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sa7li” but also “sahli”, “se7li”, “sahely” and “sa7ly”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.

Type “sa7li” on the Arabic keyboard

In Moroccan Darija

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “coastal, of the coast”: sa7ili in Moroccan.