sagya ساقية
Tunisian Derja · noun
“sagya” (ساقية) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning small irrigation channel.
Meanings
- small irrigation channel
- waterwheel
Usage
Sagya refers to the small channel that brings water to crops. The word evokes the farming world, gardens and oases. The plural is swagi. It is often pronounced with a g: sagya or sègya. The word appears in many place names, such as Sakiet Ezzit or Sakiet Eddaier near Sfax, and Sakiet Sidi Youssef. In a phrase like "ybda swagi", it describes water trickling in thin streams after rain. The sense of "waterwheel" is older and rarer. Do not confuse this word with sénya, which refers to the irrigated garden itself.
Example
حلّ الماء في الساقية باش يسقي الزيتون
7all el ma fi essagya bech yesgi ezzitoun
“He opened the water in the channel to irrigate the olive trees.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sagya” but also “sa9ia”, “saguia”, “sakia” and “sagia”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 9 is qaf (ق), a k pronounced at the back of the throat.
Type “sagya” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “irrigation channel or ditch”; “water-lifting wheel”: sa9ya in Moroccan.