taw تو
Tunisian Derja · adverb
“taw” (تو) is an adverb in Tunisian Derja meaning now, at the moment.
Meanings
- now, at the moment
- right away, soon
- near-future marker
Usage
Taw is one of the most frequent words in Tounsi. On its own it means "now", but before an imperfect verb it announces an imminent action: "taw nji" (I'm coming, I'll be right there). Note that "taw" is not always immediate, and "taw taw" can mean "in a moment" in a rather elastic way. "Ltaw" or "l-tawwa" means "until now" or "a moment ago". The long form "tawwa" is also common. The register is informal yet neutral, with no particular connotation.
Example
تو نجي، استناني.
taw nji, stanneni.
“I'm coming right away, wait for me.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “taw” but also “tawa”, “tawwa”, “tw”, “taww” and “towa”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Its Arabic spelling is not fixed either: you will find تو and طو, all the same word.