sna سنة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“sna” (سنة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning year.
Meanings
- year
- tooth
- sunnah, Prophetic tradition
Usage
The word sna covers two common words spelled the same way. In the sense of "year," it is used mainly in greetings and set phrases (sna jdida, sna hejriya), in dates and for age, with the plural snin. In conversation, 3am is often more frequent for "year." In the sense of "tooth," sna is used in everyday speech (sna tewja3ni, "I have a toothache"), with the plural snin; the molar is rather called dharsa. Pronounced sonna, the same written word means the religious sunnah. Only context and pronunciation distinguish these senses.
Example
النهار فضيل كيما اليوم سنة هجّريّة مباركة ال امّة اسلاميّة
inhar fdhil kima ilyoum sana hejriya moubarka al oma islamiya
“A day of grace like today: a blessed Hijri year to the Islamic community.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sna” but also “sana”, “sena”, “sinna”, “sonna” and “sonnet”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Type “sna” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “tooth”: snna in Moroccan.