siya7a سياحة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“siya7a” (سياحة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning tourism, tourist sector.
Meanings
- tourism, tourist sector
- outing, excursion, sightseeing
Usage
Siyé7a means tourism as an economic sector, a very prominent subject in Tunisia: people talk about qta3 essiyé7a (the tourism sector), hotels and the summer season. In conversation, the word is also used for a personal activity: na3mel chwaya siyé7a, "to do a bit of sightseeing", that is, to visit and stroll around. A tourist is sé2e7, plural souyyé7. The word comes from Standard Arabic and is used as is in derja, in a neutral register. It is pronounced with a final "7", which Latin script often renders as "a" or "7a".
Example
الصيف هذا نحب نعمل شوية سياحة في الجنوب.
essif hedha n7eb na3mel chwaya siye7a fel janoub.
“This summer I want to do a bit of sightseeing in the South.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “siya7a” but also “siye7a”, “siyaha”, “syeha” and “siy7a”. 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 “siya7a” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “tourism”; “outing, pleasure trip”: siya7a in Moroccan.