sijn سجن
Tunisian Derja · noun
“sijn” (سجن) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning prison, penal institution.
Meanings
- prison, penal institution
- imprisonment, prison sentence
Usage
Sijn means prison, both the building and the sentence. In Derja, one also often hears el habs, which is more colloquial, whereas sijn is a bit more formal: it appears in the media, in court news and in TV series titles, for example sijn el nsa (the women's prison) or sijn el ahdeth (the juvenile prison). Common constructions: dkhal lel sijn (to go to prison), khraj mel sijn (to get out of prison). Figuratively, it is used for a place or situation where one feels trapped: "hedhi mouch dar, hedha sijn" (this isn't a house, it's a prison).
Example
خوه دخل للسجن عام كامل.
khouh dkhal lel sijn 3am kemel.
“His brother went to prison for a whole year.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sijn” but also “sejn”, “sjen”, “sijin”, “sejen” and “soujoun”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.