tnech ثناش
Tunisian Derja · numeral
“tnech” (ثناش) is a numeral in Tunisian Derja meaning twelve.
Meanings
- twelve
Usage
Thnach (or tnech) is the usual Tunisian form of the number twelve. Before a noun, it is used directly followed by the singular: thnach 3am (twelve years), thnach dinar. It is also used alone for counting, or to give a page number, house number or time: sa3a thnach (noon or midnight). Pitfall for an English speaker: the noun that follows stays singular, not plural as in English. The literary form "ithna 3achar" is not used in conversation. Thnach also serves as the base for compound numbers like thnach w 3achrin does not exist: one simply says the numbers from twenty separately.
Example
ولدي عندو ثناش عام.
weldi 3andou thnach 3am.
“My son is twelve years old.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “tnech” but also “thnech”, “thnach”, “tnach” and “tnache”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.