tonfokh تنفخ
Tunisian Derja · verb
“tonfokh” (تنفخ) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to blow (on something).
Meanings
- to blow (on something)
- to inflate, to swell
- to fume, to huff with irritation
Usage
Tonfokh is the second-person masculine, or third-person feminine, form of the verb nfakh / yonfokh. This verb means to blow with the mouth or to inflate. It is used for blowing on a hot dish, inflating a balloon or a tire, or for dough or bread that rises. The expression tonfokh w tfech, "you inflate and you deflate", describes someone who gets worked up and then calms down without achieving anything. The participle manfoukh means "inflated, swollen", and figuratively "conceited". The preposition 3la introduces the thing being blown on.
Example
ما تنفخش عالماكلة، استنى حتى تبرد
ma tonfokhch 3al mekla, stanna 7atta tobred
“Don't blow on the food, wait until it cools down.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “tonfokh” but also “tenfekh”, “tonfo5”, “tanfekh” and “tenfe5”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 5 is kha (خ), like the ch in Scottish loch.