se3a ساعة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“se3a” (ساعة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning hour.
Meanings
- hour
- watch, clock
- sometimes (plural sa3at)
Usage
Se3a first means the hour, as a length of time or as a moment: "nos se3a" (half an hour), "se3a w nos" (an hour and a half). The same word also means a watch or a clock. The plural sa3at is very often used as an adverb meaning "sometimes", which can be surprising. Common expressions include "men se3a l se3a", meaning "from one moment to the next". One also says "se3a men zmen" for "for quite a while". To ask the time, say "kaddech el se3a?".
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 “se3a” but also “sa3a”, “sé3a”, “sei3a”, “sa3” and “esse3a”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find ساعة and الساعة and ساعه, all the same word.
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 “se3a” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “hour (duration, time)”; “watch, clock”: sa3a in Moroccan.
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “hour (length of time)”; “watch, clock”: sa3a in Algerian.