tsel تسال
Tunisian Derja · verb
“tsel” (تسال) is a verb in Tunisian Derja meaning to ask, to inquire.
Meanings
- to ask, to inquire
- to be owed by someone
Usage
Tsel is the 2nd person form ("you ask") or the 3rd person feminine form ("she asks") of the verb sel, "to ask". To inquire about something, it is constructed with "fi": "tsel fi" (to ask about). The verb also has a meaning specific to Tunisian, that of being a creditor: "yselni flous" means "he owes me money", literally "he asks me for money". Pitfall for an English speaker: the subject is the person who is owed, not the person who owes.
Example
علاش ما تسالش أمّك؟
3lech ma tselch ommek ?
“Why don't you ask your mother?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “tsel” but also “tsal”, “tasel”, “tssel” and “tsell”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.