tounsi تونسي
Tunisian Derja · adjective
“tounsi” (تونسي) is an adjective in Tunisian Derja meaning Tunisian, from Tunisia.
Meanings
- Tunisian, from Tunisia
- a Tunisian (person)
Usage
Tounsi is used as an adjective ("Tunisian") and as a noun ("a Tunisian"). The feminine is tounsiya, the most common plural is twensa (or ettwensa with the article), alongside tounsiyin. It is widely used for food, music, accent or habits: "makla tounsiya" (Tunisian food). The word also names the dialect itself: "ye7ki tounsi" (he speaks Tunisian). Twensa is often used with a collective or self-critical nuance ("ettwensa haka", Tunisians are like that), where English would more likely say "we" or "people".
Example
ملاوي و شكشوكة تونسيّة
Mlewi w chakchouka tounssiya
“Mlaoui and a Tunisian chakchouka.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “tounsi” but also “tounssi”, “twensa”, “tounsiya” and “tunsi”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.