sna3a صناعة
Tunisian Derja · noun
“sna3a” (صناعة) is a noun in Tunisian Derja meaning industry.
Meanings
- industry
- manufacturing, production
- craft, trade, skill
Usage
Sna3a refers to the industry of a country or a sector: "sna3a mta3 el karahib", "sna3at ennssij". The word is also used for the manufacture of a specific product. It can also mean a manual trade: "3andou sna3a" means he has a trade in his hands. This last sense is very much alive in Tunisia and is often used when advising a young person. In this sense, one also says "san3a". The form sinā3a, pronounced in the Standard Arabic way, is mostly heard in the media. The plural is sna3at.
Example
الصناعة في تونس تحتاج خدامة.
esna3a fi tounes te7tej 5addema.
“Industry in Tunisia needs workers.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “sna3a” but also “sina3a”, “sna3at”, “snaa” and “sinaa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
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 “sna3a” on the Arabic keyboard
In Moroccan Darija
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Moroccan Darija, where it means “industry”; “manufacturing, production”: sina3a in Moroccan.