ya3tik saha يعطيك الصحة

Tunisian Derja · expression

“ya3tik saha” (يعطيك الصحة) is an expression in Tunisian Derja meaning thank you (for work, a service).

Meanings

1. thank you (for work, a service)
2. well done, nice work
3. keep it up, God keep you

Usage

Ya3tik essa7a literally means "may (God) give you health". It is said to someone who has just worked, done a favour or made an effort: a waiter, a craftsman, a colleague, a relative who cooked. It is a warm thank-you, more personal than a simple "thank you". It is also used to greet someone in the middle of their work. The plural is ya3tikom essa7a. The usual reply is ya3tik essa7a in return, or y3aychek. For an English speaker, the pitfall is to take it as a wish for health connected with illness: it is not.

Example

How to write it in Latin letters

In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ya3tik saha” but also “ya3tik essa7a” and “ya3tik sa7a”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.

Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent; 7 is ha (ح), a breathy h from the throat.

Type “ya3tik saha” on the Arabic keyboard

In Algerian Darja

Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “thank you”; “well done, bravo”: ya3tik saha in Algerian.