wa7ed nhar واحد نهار
Tunisian Derja · expression
“wa7ed nhar” (واحد نهار) is an expression in Tunisian Derja meaning one day, once.
Meanings
- one day, once
- once upon a time
Usage
Wa7ed nhar introduces an event set in an indeterminate past, like "one day" in English: wa7ed nhar mchit... It often opens an anecdote or a story, and can also point to a vague future: wa7ed nhar tefhem, "one day you'll understand". Fard nhar is also heard with the same meaning, with a more colloquial nuance. The word nhar means both "day" and "daytime". Don't confuse it with nhar wa7ed, which means "a single day" and emphasizes the duration.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “wa7ed nhar” but also “wahed nhar”, “wa7d nhar” and “wa7ad nhar”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.
Type “wa7ed nhar” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “one day, one fine day”: wa7ed nhar in Algerian.