ye5i ياخي
Tunisian Derja · conjunction
“ye5i” (ياخي) is a conjunction in Tunisian Derja meaning and so, as a result.
Meanings
- and so, as a result
- so? is it really…?
- come on (reproach)
Usage
Ye5i is a very common discourse particle. In a narrative, it introduces a consequence or a twist, often an unexpected one: "he squeezed the mirror too hard, ye5i he broke it". At the start of a question, it expresses surprise or doubt: "ye5i walla yes2el 3lina?" (so he's started asking about us now?). It can also carry a mild reproach. Informal, spoken register. Spellings vary widely, ye5i and ya5i being the most common.
Example
مشيت للحانوت ياخي لقيتو مسكّر
mchit lel 7anout ye5i l9itou msakker
“I went to the shop and found it closed.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “ye5i” but also “ya5i”, “yekhi” and “ye55i”. 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.
Type “ye5i” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “come on, what (indignant question)”; “so, then (question opener)”: ya5i in Algerian.